Soaring On Broken Wings
by numina
Summary: ON HIATUS. Where Squall angsts, Rinoa kind of flirts, Roxas leers, and Antiform gives some love. Sequel Fanfiction to You Don't Miss It 'Till It's Gone Kaiora Namixas
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **The sequel to You Don't Miss It 'Till It's Gone, in case you didn't bother to read the summary (which I seriously doubt that you forgot to do so).

Warnings for violence, blood, language, the works. It's not rated T for nothing.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts (c) Square Enix. Plot is mine, however.

- - - - - - - - - - -

_pro_**logu**e**: runaway**

**----------------**

- - - - - - - - - - -

_All hearts are one_

_One heart is all_

_In other words the kingdom's heart_

_"Kingdom Hearts"_

_That is the great heart_

_And hidden within is great darkness_

Fingers brushed smoothly against a faded yellow page, torn notebook holes gracing its sides. Hurried writing scrawled across the ruled lines, in a poem that neither she nor the heads of the court could make head or tail of. It had been ripped from a looseleaf notebook in desperation. She had tried to understand why he had done such a thing.

She had been trying to understand why for over a year now, but understanding evaded her, like everybody else.

It was like her heart was slowly being torn in two, not knowing _why_.

It was only a simple question, but it had haunted her dreams, her thoughts, her life.

White curtains swayed in the breeze and caressed her skin, blowing through the thin silk of her bodice. She paced the room once again, white slippers touching the carpeted floor silently, hem of her dress kissing the floor with a faint _swish_. They were late.

She had called for them for almost thirty minutes now, and her lips curved downwards into a frown.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and this _definitely_ qualified as a desperate time. People were breaking out in riots and taking out their anger on the palace guards. Her advisers were talking behind her back. No matter how she tried to maintain peace, they had always clamored for one thing.

And today, that's what she'd be granting them.

It would good not only for her World, but for his as well. After all, his World had been thrown into chaos because _her_ kingdom had burst into chaos.

She resisted the urge to yell. Breathing deeply, she tried to calm herself, but in truth, her fingers were ice-cold and her knees were actually shaking with nervousness.

The gilded marble door to the room opened, and two people filed in, looking as emotionless as ever. She observed the two as they walked inside, and took in every detail like her life depended on it.

The first one was a teenager of about eighteen years, with her choppy flaxen hair swept over one shoulder. A cream white sundress hung gracefully off her pale body, showing off her figure and concealing it quite innocently up to the middle thigh. Cerulean eyes narrowed as she took the room in and her gaze settled on her.

The second one, who closed the door after he entered, was another teen, nineteen years if she wasn't mistaken. A crown of spiked golden hair stuck out in angles on his scalp, trailing down and shadowing his stormy blue eyes effectively. A black coat covered the rest of his body from a v-necked collar with a hood, and the sunlight sparkled off his hood's cords and zipper. His gloved hands flexed open and closed, and his pouting lips set themselves in a straight line, not betraying anything that he had felt.

Both got down on one knee simultaneously and fixed their eyes on the floor. "Princess," they intoned flatly.

She inclined her head in acknowledgement. "Sir Roxas, Lady Naminé. I have decided."

Roxas glanced up briefly, and a shadow of a scowl flashed across his face. "We stand by whatever your decision is, as Captain of the Guards and Lady Regent of the Court."

Naminé nodded, agreeing. She noticed that her pale fingers clutched the hem of her sundress tightly.

"I have given him an ultimatum, and he refuses to concede. Therefore," she choked slightly on her words, but recovered quickly.

"Princess --- " the blonde Lady started, but she pressed a gloved finger to her cherry-red lips.

"Your orders are to bring him back for questioning. If, however, he refuses to come back, you have my blessing to execute him. Bring back proof if you have killed him. However, it's much better if you bring Sora back alive."

Roxas stared at her.

Naminé nodded to the floor.

"Understood?"

The blonde spiky-haired teen shook his head. "We have no idea where he is, Princess."

She smiled weakly, and handed Roxas the torn sheet of notebook.

His eyes widened, and he read it out in a whisper to the girl peering over his shoulder. They blanched, and simultaneously looked up at her.

Naminé's cerulean blue eyes reflected pure astonishment. "K-Kairi..." she stammered weakly. "You didn't just --- "

Kairi nodded.

He shook his head slowly, and got to his feet, biting his lip as he did. The blonde girl followed suit, expression a veritable mix of stunned anger and pity.

"Creator guide you, Princess," they murmured in one voice, bowing. Naminé looked ready to burst into tears, but Kairi knew she knew better than to do that. They both spun on their heels and walked towards the gilded door, leaving the note to flutter belatedly to the floor. Roxas opened the door for his girlfriend, and paused as she stepped out, turning back to face Kairi.

"Well, Kai, it's been fun," he chuckled, shaking his head. "G'bye."

Kairi bit her lip, and looked away. "Goodbye, Roxas."

He closed the door.

She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms to hold herself, trying to ease the coldness she was feeling inside.

- - - - - - - - - -

He knew it. He just _knew_ this would happen. And he was stupid enough not to do anything about it. He was stupid enough to trust _her_.

Summoning the Kingdom Key, he kicked the window of his room open and slowly backed towrds it, the morning breeze ruffling his cinnamon locks. He narrowed his eyes and forced a cocky smile. "Didn't think you'd find me here..."

Leon scowled at him, flinging out an arm to hold the Radiant Garden soldiers back. He drew out his own Gunblade. "Don't think you can escape, Sora."

Sora swallowed painfully as his heart pounded in his chest. "Do you honestly _believe_ I could've done such a thing?"

"You wouldn't have run if you didn't," the tall, brooding head of the Restoration Committee growled. He lifted a hand in signal to the armored guard behind him. Said guard poked his head back out the door and yelled something.

Sora backed away a fraction of an inch, tensing his calves in preparation to jump out.

"Coming!"

A black-coated figure with blonde spiky hair swept into the room, stormy-blue eyes dark and impassive. "I'm here, fine, fine!" he glared at Leon, and then turned to Sora. Their eyes met for a brief second, and Sora saw nothing there but death.

"Roxas..." he whispered, but his Nobody cut him off.

"On the order of the crown princess Kairi Dalmasca-Leonheart, you are under arrest for the murders of their Majesties Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and for the murder of Sir Riku Alcaia," he intoned, before pausing. "You come back with us, or we hunt you down. Either way, you'll still end up dead, Sora."

"I didn't do it!" Sora shrieked, swiping at the edge of his eyes.

"Then who did, Sora?" Leon asked tonelessly.

"I...I..."

He shook his head desperately before whirling around on his heels and vaulting out the window, heeding the shouts of "Don't let him get away!" behind him.

Oh God, why did he trust Kairi in the first place?

- - - - - - - - - - -

The battalion of soldiers hurtled through the marketplace, and the townspeople scattered out of the way. Leon paused every once in a while, shouting that it was all right, that the townspeople had nothing to worry about. Behind him, Yuffie ran as nimbly as he did, rolling her eyes at him.

"Suuure, Leon," she said sarcastically, shuriken held loosely in her right hand, ready to throw at a moment's notice. "We're just a bunch of fully armed deadly soldiers who's going after a murderer, who, by the way, has a Keyblade. And oh, is that a gunblade you're holding? Is that _normal_?"

Leon stifled a chuckle. Only she could make him smile in the most inopportune moments, being the bouncy and optimistic girl that she was. "Shut it, Yuffie."

She bopped him lightly on the back of the head.

"Sir Leon!" the captain of the guards suddenly yelled. The entire company had halted at the edge of the cobbled plaze they were running through. "The prince had run into the forest!"

Radiant Garden had its outskirts flanked by an extensive forest; and the forest itself did not have the same protection as the city. The town's defense systems were no match for the Heartless lurking inside the dense woods. Understandably, the soldiers, trained as they were, were apprehensive to enter Radiant Woods, seeing that aside from Heartless there was a psychotic Keyblade Master somewhere inside.

Leon sighed and cocked his Gunblade, slinging it over his shoulder. "Fine. I'm goi--"

"No."

He raised an eyebrow as Roxas walked out of the throng of soldiers, Naminé trailing behind him with a frown on her face and her hands clenched at her sides.

Roxas threw his head back and gazed at the sky. "You don't stand a chance if Sora goes Antiform on you, Leon."

Leon looked to the side. "You can't go up against Sora, Roxas. You know that."

"It can't be helped," the blonde boy shrugged nonchalantly. "Somebody has to finish this once and for all, and that somebody is actually a Nobody, which is me," he laughed quietly. "Cliché...My light has to do away with Sora's darkness...so damn cheesy..."

Naminé had frozen beside Roxas, pain etched on her face.

"Well...'bye, Leon, Yuffie," he said cheerfully. "Say goodbye to Aerith and the rest for me."

Leon stared. The boy had one of the hardest resolves he had ever seen. Granted, he had no emotions, but still!

Roxas turned heel, Oathkeeper and Oblivion flashing to life in his hands, much to the awed stares of the soldiers. He then crossed the Keyblades in front of him and summoned his Final Form, white flames blazing to life on the hems of his black coat. He floated to a stop a feet from the ground, white orbs of light bobbing at his side.

Leon couldn't help but feel he was watching the beginning of a final showdown...

"It's been nice working with you people!" he yelled, waving Oathkeeper in the air in acknowledgement as he leant forward and started gliding towards the forest.

The guards and soldiers started whispering. Clearly, they had no idea what Roxas meant.

Naminé had finally unfrozen and she caught Roxas by the wrist, tears shimmering at the edge of her eyes. "Don't go..."

Now Leon felt like he was intruding upon a very private moment.

Roxas stopped, and touched down on the ground. He placed both hands on the flaxen-haired girl's shoulders and peered into her eyes. "I have to. Or we all die. You die."

"I can't die, Roxas, I'm not even alive, remember?" she shot back, voice broken. "Let Leon go...he's got a chance."

"No, he doesn't,"he replied, looking away. "Listen. You know I'm always with you..."

"...and you know it's not the same!" she yelled shrilly, crystal tears pouring down her cheeks. "If you kill Sora, you'll disappear too! I don't want to lose you again, Roxas!"

The clearing fell silent. Apparently the soldiers had figured it out.

Yuffie frowned beside him. "Naminé can't change his mind. Keyblade Masters are the most stubborn pieces of work in the universe."

Leon nodded, eyebrows furrowing. Experience had taught him that Nobodies don't feel anything, because they don't have hearts. However, the Captain of the Guards and the Lady Regent of the Court were clear exceptions. Or maybe he hadn't noticed it before...Nobodies may not have a heart, but they still had a soul. He wondered if it was enough.

"I don't have a choice," number Thirteen said gently. "I'm sorry, Naminé..."

He leant forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, before turning away and gliding into the forest, leaving a stunned Naminé staring after him.

Leon stepped forward. All they could do now was wait. "Naminé..." he whispered as he and Yuffie knelt beside the silently crying girl, hoping his and the ninja's presence would provide comfort.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sora bolted through the forest, slashing at the foliage blocking his way with his Keyblade. He could feel bile rise in his throat as he dodged and jumped through the gnarled roots poking up from the ground.

Fortunately, beams of sunshine filtered through the leafy crowns of trees, illuminating his way enough to run without stumbling.

He was on the run from the people he considered friends. Best friends. Even brother, in Roxas' case.

Maybe Fate really, _really_ hated him.

Sora ran on, until he came into a rather large clearing in the middle of the forest. Tall, imposing trees loomed high above his head, and the jade-green grass rustled under his feet, accompanying his harsh breaths. Panting, he put one hand on a nearby tree and struggled to catch his breath.

The back of his neck prickled, and he immediately flipped over. He looked over his shoulder to realize, with a shock, that he was standing back-to-back with his Nobody, Roxas. The blonde had both Keyblades out with the Oblivion pointing at where the back of his neck had been before.

"Roxas," he voiced out. The name tasted bitter on his tongue.

"Sora," Roxas nodded. "Come peacefully, or I'll be forced to use violence."

Sora laughed harshly, an unwilling smile working itself onto his lips. "We'll both die."

"I know," the blonde replied simply.

"Any last words...?"

Roxas laughed, whirled around, and charged.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Another bolt of energy, this time of pure black, shot out from the forest once again, making birds rise up and fly away.

Leon swallowed painfully as Naminé made a strangled sound, her pale fingers digging uselessly into the cobbled street. The soldiers flinched and some of the horses whinnied, stomping their feet in agitation.

The battle had been going on for a good fifteen minutes, and the only signs were the random bolts of pure light or darkness bursting out from under the forest's canopy. Apparently, Roxas was giving it his all, but Sora was doing the same. The sky was starting to turn grey with stormclouds, seemingly in tune with the fight on the earth below.

The flaxen-haired girl squeaked as a bolt of light answered the darkness.

Another bolt of light followed soon after, but it was cut short by two short bursts of swirling black. Something made a large flock of birds fly away, scared and the living daylights frightened out of them.

Naminé was whimpering, cerulean blue eyes fixed on the sky above.

A bolt of light, but it was met by no less than thirteen small black ones.

"_Roxas!_" the girl screamed, and broke free of Yuffie's grip, sprinting into the forest herself.

The ninja jumped to her feet, and Leon cursed under his breath for the girl's stubborness as they followed, shouting for the soldiers to do the same, regardless of their fright of the forest or whatnot. He could see the Lady Regent's pale figure right in front of him, foliage whipping everywhere as he and Yuffie cut the branches down.

A few minutes later another bolt of light burst out at the same time as a black one, and Leon swore Naminé ran ten times faster.

Fortunately, Yuffie was faster, and she managed to catch the blonde Nobody in her arms. Naminé was sobbing hysterically and was struggling violently against the black-haired ninja.

"Let me go! Roxas needs help!" she pleaded miserably.

A bolt of light.

Voices...

Leon stopped, and gestured for the men behind him to halt. He shot Yuffie a look that told her wordlessly not to let got of Naminé under any circumstances.

"_Roxas, you don't want to do this..._"

"_Shut up, murderer!_"

"_Roxas, please...!_"

Sora's voice. He was pleading, voice broken.

"_Say goodbye, Sora._"

"_No! Roxas! Don't!_"

A scream. Sora. Cut short.

A column of darkness shot out from the forest for a good twenty seconds, momentarily darkening the sky. Soon after, a column of white shone, a blinding manifestation of light.

The forest around them burst into flames, and the rain began to pour heavily, starting to quench the raging inferno until only the charred remains and stumps of trees remained. Yuffie started crying, her tears mixing with the drops of rain falling, with the blonde Nobody frozen in her arms.

Naminé then screamed a name, apparently breaking out of her reverie.

"_ROXAS!_"

The flazen-haired girl wrenched herself free of Yuffie's grip and ran into the trees. Or rather, Yuffie let her go. It was over. Leon followed Naminé's footsteps heavily, swallowing the lump in his throat. Yuffie continued crying quietly as she walked by him, right into a clearing, surrounded charred leaves and blackened stumps and the marks of a battle fought and a battle finished in tragedy.

Naminé was there, kneeling in the middle of a heap of ebony-black ashes, holding a mythril cross-shaped necklace to her chest and sobbing.

Next to her was another necklace, cradled in a pile of equally black ash, drops of water sparkling on its silvery surface.

A mythril crown pendant.

Leon bowed his head.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Hmmm?" Aerith paused, craning her neck to look up into the sky, where bolts of energy had been dancing for the last half hour. "What's happening?"

Rinoa set down a rose stem into the brunette's basket. "I heard Roxas and Leon went to hunt him down," she said boredly, picking up another flower and wondering where Aerith had gotten these plants.

"Oh."

Suddenly two columns of energy rose up, one after the other, each lasting for half a minute. The first one was black, the next one was white. Then the rain poured down, and Aerith winced. "Now what was _that_?"

Rinoa looked at Aerith curiously, then frowned. "Don't you know? Whenever a Wielder dies completely, their element is released, and the Wielder's body burns as it does."

The brunette blanched, and tears shimmered in her jade-green eyes. "Oh Creator, no...Darkness and light..."

Rinoa wrapped her arms around the now-sobbing florist, letting Aerith cry on her shoulder. She made sure to hide the smile that graced her own lips as she looked up into the stormy sky.

_All four Keyblade Masters gone... This makes my life so much easier..._

- - - - - - - - - - -

Kairi watched the columns of energy that burst out from under the forest's canopy, hands clutching convulsively on the marble railing of her balcony. The gossamer curtains swayed in an unseen breeze as another bolt of light crossed with a similar one, now only of darkness. She wondered if there was any forgiveness for what she had just done.

No. It wasn't her that needed forgiving. It was him; he was the murderer. She just meted out the justice that he deserved.

She froze.

A column of darkness shot straight upwards.

She was forcibly reminded of the same sight almost a year ago, only that it was a blend, a gradient, of orange and indigo and a few splotches of sky-blue. Twilight. Riku's element. A column of twilight signifying his death. All they ever found was his ashes and the Way To the Dawn's Heartless Keychain.

She had not seen the column of grey light that was King Mickey's, but she had been told it was the most terrifying sight Disney Kingdom had ever seen. In the King and Queen's ashes lay the Reverse Keyblade's Keychain, a gold rendition of the Disney insignia.

And now, a column of darkness.

Only one Keyblade Master used darkness, and she knew who it was.

Thirty seconds later, the darkness faded, and a column of light shot up a few feet away.

Naminé must hate her now. If Nobodies could feel.

Kairi fell to her knees and sobbed, pale hands scrabbling uselessly on the white marble floor. The note, the note torn hurriedly from a notebook, was spattered with her tears. She had already broken the Illusion on the note. Illusion, she discovered, was much like the one King Mickey had woven on his own note so long ago.

_Hey, it's me. Keep on reading as if this is nothing, only you can read this note. The rest see only a poem._

_I need your help. Give me a chance to explain. I request asylum, I already **concede**, I can't keep on running forever. You know that I'm not guilty, right? I'm staying at the Rin's Travel Agency here in Radiant Garden, room 138. I need to speak to you, Kairi. Please **don't** tell anyone else. You can tell the whole world where I am and what you think, but do that after we talk. Please?_

_I love you._

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Ah. Well. I can say that went as planned. This **really** does happen; all events from now on will lead up to this one. But I'll start at the start, yeah.

Oh, the angst. -dies-

The italicized paragraph, if you didn't get it, was what the note really contained.

Read&review...please?

Flamers can go ahead and, well, flame.


	2. the kingdom strikes back

Let's see now. Enumerate exactly _why_ I updated so late.

Firstly, this site would not let me log in for some reason. Arrrrgh. Even Fictionpress won't. Exception error or something like that. And my inbox, for some mysterious reason, does not get e-mail from this site. Dang.

Secondly, my silver-haired muse ran away with my iPod. He's mad because I killed him off. So I have Antiform for a sub just now...so expect a darker story.

Thirdly, life is hard. So okay, I do procrastinate, but hey! Sheesh!

Now...I know you're all confused as to why the hell would I kill off so many people in just the prologue. All in good time. Yeah. And just to clarify it, the prologue is _not_ the end of the story. Well, it may be a bit close, but it is _not_ the end. Clear? Clear.

Leon is **not** married to Kairi.

The songs _Hero _(Spiderman OST) and _Run Away _(Linkin Park) would be this fic's theme song.

So anyway. I'm leaving it up to Darkie for the disclaimer.

_Antiform:_ Only buddy-boy can call me that! And yeah, whoever's reading this, characters belong to Squenix. Now go away and leave me alone. Unless you want your heart torn out. Mmhmm.

**Previously:** Prologue. Roxas and Sora clash, on the orders of Kairi; none come back. Riku and King Mickey are dead. Rinoa is happy, Naminé is looking to kill somebody. And how the hell does Leon fit in?

- - - - - - - - - - - -

**i: the kingdom strikes back**

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Pale porcelain skin. Mythril crown necklace.

_I've been having these weird thoughts lately..._

Cinnamon strands spiked with ebony. Thick black lashes hiding twin orbs of deep cerulean blue. Falling...falling from the light. Undersea light.

_Like...is any of this for real...or not?_

Flashing. Side view. Falling. Hair waving. Silver clothes swirled with black. Spheres of light trailing wisps of white. Falling downwards, gathering speed. Two pitch-black wings, both broken, both weeping ebony feathers. Both flapping uselessly as he falls...

_Fallen Keyblade Master..._

Aquamarine eyes whip open; tan hand shades his white skin from the summer sun. He peers outward into the endless blue of salt and sea. Two figures stand in the water. They turn...

One with silver hair much like his own; tan skin, amber eyes, haughty glare. Arms folded in trademark stance. Crossed red heart on his chest. The other one is pitch-black; a reverse image of his best friend; sickly yellow eyes, pouting lips curled up in a feral smirk.

Ansem holds out his right gloved hand, while Antiform holds out his left.

Riku roars in anger as he summons Way to the Dawn. He starts to sprint forward but he stops short. The tide recedes unnaturally, and he looks up just in time to see a great crest of ocean behind them. Gritting his teeth and not allowing this to deter him, he charges still.

Both figures still have their hands offered when the wave crashes down on them.

A word bubbles out of his mouth wordlessly as he struggles against the current, trying to reach his adversaries. Arms whirling and feet kicking and Keyblade cutting through water...

Antiform grins.

Ansem smiles secretively.

The current is too much; he is pushed back, frantically trying to swipe at the two...

He throws his head back, trying to get rid of the saltwater running down his silver hair. He takes deep breaths and tries to steady his rapid heartbeat. Riku swims forward, limbs heavy...

_Riku!_

An auburn-haired girl calls to him from the shore, giggling and waving. Short choppy red wisps frame her face, purple cloth flutters against slender legs...

The younger Kairi waves, and he drags himself from the water to stop in front of her, hands resting on his knees and struggling to catch his breath. As he takes a good look, he is startled. A mythril crown necklace shimmers around her neck, and a gold circlet rests on her head. Beryl eyes peer happily at him, and Riku can't help but smile...

And then she blinks, and looks skyward. Small hands curl upon themselves on her chest, and her lips curve themselves into an 'o'. He follows her gaze, and his heart skips a beat.

Fiery-blue meteorites shower the sky, leaving trails of white and sparkle. His eye catches a particular one, and he staggers backward as he focuses past the haze of magic.

Gold hair ruffles in the wind, and a cross pendant whips this way and that. Pale skin and pouting lips. Eyes remain firmly closed as Roxas falls, falls from the sky in a shower of shooting starts...

...and Riku stumbles backward, and his balance fails, and he falls...

Kairi gasps and her beryl eyes widen in trepidation, the crown necklace sparkling in the sunset. He falls, and he reaches out a hand in her direction. Her figure suddenly shimmers; her auburn hair fades into flaxen strands; her clothes bleach white, and her beryl eyes swirl into cerulean blue.

Naminé reaches out her own pale hand gingerly, but she halts, and draws back a fraction of an inch. Her eyes mirror guilt, and pity, and sorrow. Reality ripples outwards, and she disappears.

He closes his eyes.

Riku tilts his head backwards resignedly as he falls, through the sky and through the sun and all of a sudden into darkness. A pale light shines from above, and black feathers flutter past. He realizes this is the path Sora had taken earlier as he fell.

The air slowly lifts him, and his eyes open, uncertain. His feet touch the dark ground. He looks around warily, and, subconsciously, he takes a step forward.

He raises both hands to shield his eyes from blinding light as the ground beneath him erupts into a flurry of white doves, each purer than the last. He gazes upwards, observing curiously, as the doves fly away into the light.

Riku doesn't need to look down to know what stained-glass platform he is standing on.

In the glass lies trapped the image of his brunet friend; he lies collapsed, facedown, with his black wings broken and trailing over his back. Black crowns surround the edge of the glass circle. And hovering over Sora's prone form is another figure, with auburn hair and closed eyes.

Kairi is crying over her fallen Keyblade Master.

"_Riiiikuuuu!_"

"Wha---"

"RIKU DO I NEED TO DRAG YOU OUT OF BED? WE'RE GOING TO BE LAA-ATE!"

Insistent pounding on the door. Riku clapped a hand over his closed eyes and sighed. Now _that_ was a frightening -- not to mention weird -- dream. And from the eerie similarities to Sora's own dream almost three years ago, it was a disturbing experience. Just what did it ---

"ARE YOU UP ALREADY?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm up, Sora!" he hollered, throwing back the covers of his bed and swinging his legs over the side.

His white door creaked open, and Sora poked his head into the room, an annoyed expression on his face. "You're supposed to be the one who's waking _me_ up, not the other way around."

Riku opened his mouth to ask how the hell he was going to wake up early because of his stupid dream, but he changed his mind and held his tongue. Knowing Sora, the teen'll worm out every single detail and waste a night and a half trying to understand what it means. He sighed instead, and just nodded.

Wrong move.

"What's up with you?" the brunet asked almost immediately. "You don't nod. You bite back."

Riku gestured helplessly with his right hand, eyeing Sora as he did with a knowing expression on his face. "Ahhh...I just got tired last night. Stupid Materia Handling assignment."

It worked. "There's an assignment?" he spluttered. "Darn, I forgot to do it!"

The door shut closed with a snap.

He grinned to himself, waiting for the inevitable---

"RIKU! THERE IS _NO_ ASSIGNMENT, YOU JERK!"

Well, Sora _was_ right. Riku didn't just nod; he _always_ bit back.

--- x -- x ---

"Ahahah, Sora, stop pouting, you look like a kid who lost his candy," Roxas laughed, slapping the brunet playfully on the back.

"When people are staring at _us_ like this, one can understand why I'm pouting!" Sora retorted, heaving his knapsack higher over his shoulder.

Roxas, unfazed, just grinned and continued on walking to their Master's Sword Handling and Maneuvering class. The stares of the students as they walked through the corridors probably didn't bother him in the least. However, it bothered Sora. Badly.

But, as Naminé had put it, who wouldn't stare at a legendary Keyblade Master walking along with his equally legendary Nobody? The fact that they looked like mirror images of one another didn't help at all.

Destiny Islands Academy had taken Sora's...situation with mixed feelings. They had to explain the concept of Nobody-heart-releasing-Dark Keyblade-thing over and over again, without trying to reveal too much. For example, the fact that Sora's Antiform was the one who attacked King Mickey was kept under wraps. If people caught news of that, they'd excommunicate him for sure.

Roxas had a theory about life and how Sora actually 'existed' on without his heart...The blonde Nobody had said that one can only be considered truly alive when he or she or even _it_ had a heart of its own. It was far too complicated a matter for Sora to think about every single day; academy life had made up for all that and more.

The classes were harder this year, and the pressure on him to be the best made it even harder. Everybody clamored to spar with him, and while nobody (with the exception of Roxas -- they had a draw) even came close to beating Sora, it took out a lot of his energy.

And what frightened Sora was sometimes, he'd just look down and see that he had summoned the Keyblade without even thinking about it.

The academy population had taken to separate ways when dealing with the different _heroes_ of the time.

Organization XIII had automatically gone down in the books as the most interesting professors ever (with the possible exception of Vexen). Xigbar was teaching Accuracy Arts, Vexen's was Lifestream Chemistry, Lexaeus was with Physical Arts, Zexion's was Lifestream Physics, Axel with Elementary Spellcasting, Luxord was with Battle Strategy, Marluxia with Lifestream Biology, and Larxene with Healing Arts. Sure, the random portalling had frightened the hell out of people at first, but the academy had gotten used to it.

With Naminé, they had taken to asking her how she came back and how being a Nobody worked. Most of the time, however, Roxas was with her, so all inappropriate questions (and suggestive looks) were fended of with a Roxas-scowl that radiated death.

With Roxas, well, the blonde had a fangirl club of his own, which frequently got into spats with the Naminé's fanboy club.

Most were impressed by his dual-wielding ability and his Final Form, although the only time that he had driven into that Form was one memorable Master's SHM class, in a fight against Riku. Roxas won, but only because Riku didn't dare use darkness to beat him.

With Kairi, it was pretty much the same. The mayor's daughter, coupled by the fact that she was a Princess of Heart, was enough to intimidate most of the people. However, she was still widely-known as one of the nicest girls on academy grounds, always ready to help people.

With Riku...well, he had the most obsessive fanclub, made of boys and girls alike. He had run again for Student Council presidency, and, unsurprisingly, won, because he had run unopposed. He had taken to roaming around the campus and striking up conversation with random people in his spare time, partly because he liked to be known, and partly because, being the cocky teen he was, he liked the awed reactions of the students he spoke with.

With Sora, however, half the populace was afraid of coming within a ten-foot radius around him. The other half was obsessively asking for his number, class schedule, locker number, favorite flavor of ice cream, address, favorite type of Heartless, age, color of his boxers...and the (sometimes weird, sometimes plain unbelievable) list goes on and on.

Some whispered behind his back, and this was why he always made sure that he was always around either Roxas, Kairi, or Riku. Both Riku and Roxas could control Antiform if he himself somehow lost control (although he hadn't heard Antiform's voice in his head yet), and Kairi seemed to have a calming effect on him.

"Hey..." Roxas' voice broke him out of his reverie as they turned into the training arena of Master's SHM. "What Keychain are you using today?"

"Lemme see," Sora rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I think ... Hikari and Sakoto today..."

"Rahnel Sakoto?" the blonde said gleefully. "That jerk I fought last year?"

"Yep." A grin spread across his face. "Ah...I think I'm going to use the Ultima Keychain today..."

And he and Roxas burst into simultaneous laughter.

--- x -- x ---

"Riku?"

The silver-haired teen blinked, and tore away his gaze from the sunset, shooting Sora a curious glance. "Hm?"

Sora was still staring blankly at something over the horizon, but Riku couldn't miss the furrowed eyebrows, which signified that the brunet was thinking hard. "Are you really sure you're okay with this?"

He raised an eyebrow. "With what?"

Sora sighed, and for some reason, looked away. "With controlling my antiform."

"So-ra," Riku began exasperatedly; they had been through this many times before. "I understand that you're feeling pretty awkward with the situation, but I chose to help you. Don't...push me away or something; I _want_ to help--"

The brunet braced his hands on the bent trunk of the paopu tree and jumped off to land on his feet. "I'm not pushing you away!" he exclaimed indignantly, turning a little so that he was completely facing Riku. "It's just that...I feel so...so..."

"Persistent?" he suggested helpfully, getting quite irritated.

"_Inadequate_!" Sora growled, shooting him a glare.

Riku smirked. "That's a big word, Sora-poo."

The hurt look on the brunet's face was enough to make Riku's blood run cold. Sora swallowed visibly and turned around to lean on the paopu tree in imitation of him. Out of the corner of his eye Riku could see his hands ball themselves up into fists.

"That didn't help, Riku," he said quietly.

Riku cringed; Sora had been real touchy lately about issues concerning his immaturity. In fact, ever since the incident, neither he nor Kairi had seen Sora return to his fully optimistic self. It was like the experience of losing his heart for such a long period of time had taken something away from him --- most likely, his cheerfulness.

"Listen, Sora, I---"

"Sora! Riku!"

He looked over his shoulder, only to see a particular auburn-haired girl come running up to them. He could actually _feel _Sora tense up immediately.

"Y'know, the last time you ran up to us like that," Sora began warily, turning around and leaning his elbows on the tree, peering over at Kairi, "It was the beginning of my end. And you had a bottle in your..." he trailed off, cerulean eyes going as wide as they can go.

Kairi sprinted up to them, waving a champagne bottle in the air. "It has...Disney's...seal..." she panted, stopping a good two feet from her boyfriend. Smart girl, she was. If Sora decided to get violent, it was a good thing to keep distance.

Sora put his face in his hands and moaned. "Oh _hell_ no."

Riku waved a hand dismissively as Kairi climbed onto the paopu tree and jumped over to the other side, landing between him and Sora. "Sora, don't jump to conclusions."

"Why do I have the feeling I'm going to die, in, say, the next year or something?" the brunet remarked sarcastically.

Kairi snorted derisively. "You haven't even read the note yet."

"I don't actually _need_ to read it, I already _know_ that--"

"Oh, come off it," Riku snapped, making the two stop and stare at him. He snatched the bottle from Kairi's hands and popped the cork. "King Mickey won't try another stint like last time. He's not stupid, you know."

To his surprise, Sora sighed resignedly and took the bottle, upending it and letting the furled piece of parchment slide out. "I know, Riku. I'm just nervous."

He then handed the bottle back to Riku, and slowly unrolled the letter. Kairi went to stand on his left and Riku on his right, curious as to what the mouse monarch would want this time around. Riku couldn't help but feel a certain sense of déja vu; this was exactly their pose when they had read the first note.

He then turned his attention to the piece of parchment itself.

"Okay," Kairi started. "I want to read it aloud..."

_"To Keyblade Master Sora, _

_I know this is short notice, but I my advisors and I have decided, after what the past events, that you deserve this. Don't consider this as compensation; I am doing this because I have long believed that you are the one for this._

_I, King Mickey Mouse, Monarch of Disney Kingdom and Overseer of the Worlds, am offering you the highest honor in the--_" Kairi suddenly paused, taking in an especially sharp breath and peering at Sora.

The brunet, however, just tilted his head thoughtfully in a gesture for her to continue. He did latch on to Kairi's arm, as if he feared that he'd lose control or something.

The redhead cleared her throat and shot a meaningful glance at Riku, before continuing in a faint voice, "_Kingdom... Sora, I want to adopt you. I know you have lost your parents to the Heartless War, and I express my condolences--_" Sora made a derisive noise and clutched Kairi's arm noticeably tighter, "--_but in adopting you, I hope to make up all of my wrongdoings. Sora, words cannot express how sorry I am, but please...give me a chance._"

Now the brunet had buried his head in the crook of Kairi's neck, and he was trembling slightly. Riku wasn't sure if it was because he was touched by the King's message, or because he was just plain furious.

"_Please think about it, Sora. I will be waiting for your reply in a month._

_Signed,_

_Mickey."_

"Sora...are you okay?" Kairi was saying, handing the letter to Riku and fully embracing the mahogany-haired teen.

Riku, however, quickly averted his eyes from the sight and turned his attention back to the letter. His eyebrows furrowed on the sight, "Hey, Kai, I--"

"Huh?" the redhead peered around Sora's head to look at him.

"Uh...I think you and Sora should...you know..." he gestured helplessly with a pale hand outwards, and stole a nrevous glance at the piece of parchment, "Uhm...spend time alone? So that he can arrange his thoughts...or something?"

She simply nodded, and shot him a quick smile, before whispering in Sora's ear. The two trudged off together, probably to go to the port side of the island, to their favorite place in the docks.

Riku didn't bother to see if they had gone there. He licked his suddenly-dry lips and leant against the paopu tree, staring at the letters on the paper as if he could make them dissolve into thin air.

He didn't think King Mickey would _actually_ try and do that...but he did.

He was about to ask Kairi why she didn't read the postscript on the bottom, but he stopped when he saw it had been addressed to _him_.

_Riku,_

_Make sure Sora accepts. When he decides to go to Disney Castle, always stay close to him; Antiform is unpredictably dangerous if no control is near. The first night the boy falls asleep, meet me in my study. Do not let Princess Kairi know of this._

_This is urgent._

_Mickey_

Riku bit his lip, scanned the note twice more, rolled it up again, slid it back into the bottle, and recorked it. He held it close to himself, and sighed, staring out into the sunset.

Why did being Sora's best friend have to be so complicated?

--- x -- x ---

Roxas pouted.

And pouted some more.

Axel sighed, grabbed the nearest white pillow from the white library couch he was sitting on, and chucked it at him. "Would you _please_ stop pouting?" he groaned.

Roxsa threw the pillow back, and continued sticking out his bottom lip. It was working. He had a sneaking suspicion that no matter how old he existed to, his pout would still be effective. For example; even if he was already seventeen-ish years old, Axel was still showing signs of giving in into his pout.

A highly effective weapon.

"_No_, Roxas," number Eight said, even before Roxas could open his mouth to say something.

Roxas stuck out his lower lip, and glowered.

"Hey, has anyone of you seen Zexion's Rubix cube? I _am_ going to get back at him for ---" Larxene stopped short, looked back and forth between the best friends, and took a step back into the bookshelf from where she had come. "--I think this isn't a good time."

"Larx!" Axel said, relieved. "Help me here!"

"As long as it doesn't involve Keyblades..." the blonde Nobody said suspiciously, taking a wary step towards them.

"It doesn't!" The wild-maned redhead interjected happily. "Roxas needs a tutor in Master's Spellcas--"

Larxene took a step back, and smirked. "Sorry, _you're_ the spellcasting teacher."

"But you do a mean Thundaga!"

"It's my _element_, idiot," number Twelve shot back, sapphire-blue eyes crinkled with amusement. "Ah...what was that...? I think Marly's calling me..." she backed away further into the nearest white wall, placed both palms flat on the marble, and opened a portal, "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"Lar_xene!_" Axel yelled, getting up from the couch.

"Good luck, Ax! I hope you survive!" she laughed, blowing him a kiss and disappearing entirely into the wall.

Roxas snickered. "See? Even your girlfriend (at this the pyro made a choking noise) says so. Now," he stuck out his lower lip once more, "_Teach me_."

Axel sighed, and collapsed back into the white couch, matching Roxas stare for stare. "Why the hell do you need to learn Hastega and the whole shebang, anyway?"

"It's my schedule on Saturday, don't you remember?" he replied, shifting position on his couch, so that he was lying on it. He pillowed his head on one arm and hugged a throw pillow with the other.

"Which sector are you taking?"

"The Postern..." Roxas rolled onto his stomach and propped his chin up with the pillow. "Leon runs fast. Tifa runs faster. Yuffie runs so fast she almost flies."

Axel shot him a look. "You don't plan on getting caught, right?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "That's why I want to be taught, dork."

Number Eight folded his arms thoughtfully, and furrowed his eyebrows. "But I thought Luxord already took the Postern."

"He did, but there were too many failsafes. They put a lot of sensors in that area," he replied, playing with the tassel of the throw pillow. "The Restoration Committee knows their stuff."

"...they sure do, I almost got caught in the Borough yesterday. Argh, why not just send Zex to go directly to the town's computer system and disable the entire defense system in one go?" Axel whined, gesturing with a gloved hand.

Roxas paused, closing his eyes as he contemplated Axel's suggestion.

In the half-year that had passed since the last Halloween bash, unknown to everyone except themselves and Rinoa, Organization XIII had been fulfilling their part of the deal.

_"Well, what do you want in exchange?"_

_The ebony-haired sorceress looked around, bent slightly, and lowered her voice as she explained her terms._

_"Radiant Garden falls, and Squall 's heart is mine," she said simply, a sinister smile curving her cherry-pink lips. "And you, all of you, are obligated to help me until it happens."_

Roxas admitted that it was a bit harsh, but they couldn't just sit around and wait for Kingdom Hearts to give them their own heart. Besides, Radiant Garden was only one of the worlds out there. The Superior and the others have had more than a few bad memories from there. As for the rest, the only thing of note was that he and Naminé had been 'born' in Radiant Garden. Nothing else.

Leon and the others didn't even know who he was.

Eh. Radiant Garden was expendable.

And he was a Nobody, so he didn't feel guilty unless he made himself feel so.

"Eh, it'll draw too much attention," he said thoughtfully. "Besides, Ansem's study is one of the most guarded places in Radiant Garden. It's better to do it piece by---"

"Painstaking, patience-draining, piece," the pyro finished, and Roxas grinned at him.

"Teach me now?" the blonde pouted once more, and Axel shrugged.

"Fine. Let's go then," number Eight stood up and pulled Roxas to his feet. He held out a hand, summoned a portal, and pulled the golden-haired teen inside.

--- x -- x ---

"There you guys are."

Kairi twisted backwards, and gave Riku a wan smile. "Hey."

She and Sora had been seated on one of the island's docks for almost an hour now. The sunset had deepened further into patches of purple, and then blue-indigo, and finally into midnight-blue. The stars had begun to come out, and a crescent moon hung low above the sea. The waves twinkled with every rise and fall of the crests, and the sea-borne breeze had begun to pick up. The brunet had lent her his hoodie, and it surprisingly kept her comfortably warm. She supposed it was because of the magic woven into it.

Sora had come very close to crying sometime during that hour, when Kairi had gently pried out of him his feelings about the disappearance of his parents when the island broke apart.

It was one of his most fundamental problems: Sora always kept his feelings bottled up inside; he was always ready with a smile and a cheerful greeting for everyone he met, regardless of what he was feeling. He had confessed to her that it was because of his nature as a Keyblade Master; his bipolarity came from the fact that he was supposed to bear the balance between darkness -- Riku -- and light -- herself.

She reminded him that it was _Riku _who was the balance between darkness, Sora, and light, Roxas.

He didn't reply to that, and pressed his lips together in a frozen scowl instead.

Minutes later, however, Sora had just shifted positions and lay on the wood, his head on Kairi's lap and his fingers intertwined with hers. She played with a lock of his hair while the both of them looked out into the sea.

It was one of the most intimate and touching moments that they have shared ever since the Keyblade Master had come back from the darkness. It was the first time that Sora had been silent; all the previous hours and minutes have been spent with happy smiles and hearty jokes and optimistic conversations.

She felt guilty for this. In her happiness that everything had come back to normal, she had forgotten about Sora.

Kairi realized that not once, not anyone in the horde of admirers and students and awed citizens, none of them had asked about Sora's welfare. None had cared about how this war affected Sora; how this war took away his childish innocence and his carefree nature.

She had never missed the wary looks the brunet had directed everywhere; she had never missed the occasional twitch of his hand whenever he felt threatened. He had learnt to deal with life's problems with his Keyblade.

Sora was lost in the maze that the Keyblade had woven him.

It was sad to know that it would probably take him a lifetime to get out, even with her help.

Now she had in her hands, essentially, a traumatized child.

"What time is it?" Sora suddenly asked, lifting his head off her lap and sitting upright.

Kairi rummaged through her belt bag and took out an amethyst wristwatch; one that she never wore. "Oh. It's around eight."

"I have to get you home, then..." he murmured slowly, standing up and pulling her to her feet.

"But...It's still early..." she started to protest, but the brunet shot her a glance.

"You never know what could happen, Kai, after nightfall," he mumbled, tugging on her hand in the general direction of the mainland proper. She looked backwards helplessly at Riku, who just shrugged and started to follow.

Soon all three of them had fallen into step with each other. They started walking the night streets of Destiny Islands in a generally comfortable silence, with the occassional greeting or wave at the other residents. Out of the corner of her eye Kairi could see lighted curtains being drawn back and people peering out. It was still a sight, according to Selphie, that the trio of them, living legends, were walking around with them, she quotes, "ordinary mortals".

"So, you guys..."

Kairi blinked, and glanced at the brunet. He had laced his hands behind his head once again, in his favorite gesture.

Sky-blue eyes closed, paused, and opened once again. "What do you think the King is up to now...?"

"Sora," Riku said warningly. "Shouldn't we talk about this in a private place?"

He shook his head. "Nah. It'll get out sooner or later, anyway..."

Kairi tilted her head thoughtfully. "I think it's really sweet of King Mickey to offer to adopt you, but it sounds fishy all of a sudden. I mean, why just now? Why not before you got knighted or something?"

Sora shrugged. "Knowing him, I have another thing coming. But wha--"

"Knighted!" Riku suddenly exclaimed, stopping short and making her and Sora look back at him, puzzled.

"Knighted?" She repeated. "What about it?"

"Knighting isn't the highest honor in Disney Kingdom, Kairi," the silver-haired Wielder related very fast, "If King Mickey adopts Sora...he'll become the sole heir! Sora'll be the crown prince!"

A silence.

"_That_ was not what I was expecting," Sora scowled as he continued walking.

"Why not!" Kairi said gleefully, rubbing her hands together. "So_ra_! Becoming crown prince is every kid's dream!"

"I don't live in a fairytale _or_ a dream," the brunet snapped, sky-blue eyes darkening.

She shot a hurt look at him, but he looked away and shoved his hands in his pockets. She then looked around him at Riku, and the silver-haired teen bit his lip, and shook his head a fraction of an inch. _Don't press it_.

So they continued walking in silence.

Soon they turned into Kairi's street, and Sora was still scowling at the pavement. Kairi thought the surly, brooding look could only be pulled off by Roxas, but then again, the blonde _was_ Sora's reflection...why couldn't Sora do the same?

Sometimes he could still surprise her. Was there another side to the brunet Keyblade Master that she didn't know about?

Riku hung back purposefully, stopping a good ten feet away and muttering about dropping his contact lenses. Like he wore contact lenses, anyway. Kairi had to stifle her laughter at the lack of believable excuses Riku had in his arsenal.

"Ugh...this day had just been..." Sora made a violent slicing motion in the air, and turned to Kairi as they stopped at her porch.

"It's okay," she nodded slightly, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'm not saying that I understand, but it's okay."

He stared at the concrete and shuffled his feet. "I'm sorry for being such a hotheaded jerk. Normally I'm not like this..."

"It's okay to be abnormal, Sora..." Kairi said mischievously, and she was rewarded with one of Sora's trademark grins and a tight hug.

"I'm not abnormal!" he pouted, and grinned once more. "Thanks, Kairi. You really know how to cheer a guy up."

"And I know how to cheer the _both_ of you up..." she paused, and looked over her shoulder, calling to Riku, who was still under the pretense of finding his nonexistent contact lenses. "Hey, Riku! You and Sora stay for dinner, okay?"

The silver-haired teen straightened up and smiled beatifically as he walked over to them. "Thank Creator for a girl like you, Kairi. It was Sora's turn to cook tonight. You saved me from dying a horrible, painful death from icky, gut-busting, food poiso---"

He was cut off by a tan hand covering his mouth, and Sora growled. "_Thank you_ very much Riku, I think we got the general idea."

Riku smirked behind his hand, and, judging from the outraged and disgusted expression on Sora's face a second later, Riku licked the brunet's palm.

"_Gross_! Riku-germs!" Sora pouted, wiping his hand on his pants.

"I love you too, Sora," he beamed again, latching onto the brunet's arm.

Kairi giggled at their antics as she turned the doorknob with a _click_. "Come on, you guys...I think Grandma's making lasagna today...Daddy! Grandma! I'm _hoooome_!"

She fully opened the door, and gestured for Sora and the Riku still attached to him to come inside, reminding them to take their shoes off---or else. "Hey, Grandma, I brought them over for dinner," she called as she made her way to the dining room, "Is it o---" the words died in her throat.

"Oh, Kairi, you're back," an elderly woman smiled gently, setting a rather large casserole on the spruce dining table. "Of course, the boys can stay; in fact, I was expecting them...oh, and this is---"

"Leon."

There, at the dining table, with a sauce-smeared fork resting in his right hand, was a brunet.

An awesomely _handsome_ brunet, if Kairi might add.

Stormy-grey eyes regarded her from under choppy mahogany bangs, and a genuine smile graced his perfectly-shaped lips when they caught each other's gaze.

If she wasn't taken, Kairi admitted to herself, she'd throw herself right at this man.

"Kai, could you _please_ get this silver thing off me..." Sora was saying in a helpless voice. "Riku's choking me! Hey---"

She looked backwards to see the both of them standing in the dining-room doorway with frozen expressions on their faces. Riku's was frozen in a half-scowl, but Sora's expression was one of mixed hilarity and irritatedness. Both, however, mirrored surprise.

"Sir Leon!" she managed to choke out. "Wha--"

In one smooth motion Leon pushed his chair back, got to his feet, turned to face Kairi and went down on one knee.

She took a hesitant step back.

"Her Highness Kairi Dalmasca-Leonhart," he intoned, eyes fixed on the floor, "Crown princess of Radiant Garden, " he nodded to himself briefly, and he stood up once more, towering over her.

"H-hey!" Kairi stammered, walking backwards and smiling gratefully when Sora wrapped his arms around her waist defensively and Riku moved closer. "I'm a Princess of Heart, but I'm not---"

"You are," Leon ran a hand through his mahogany locks, and fixed his steely grey eyes on her own beryl ones.

"How'd you---"

"I know, Princess, because," he smiled again. "I'm your brother."

Kairi stared.

"And the people of Radiant Garden sent me to bring you back."

--- x -- x ---

That was long.

Yeppers.

Now, you see? I made Leon her (extremely bishie) brother. Why? Because! You'll find out soon.

If you didn't get it, Riku's dream is loosely based (okay, based) on KHI's opening FMV. And if you squint really, really hard, you can guess what'll happen. Ah. Well.

Read and review, okay? Flamers can go ahead. I'll get back to you, no matter what it takes!


	3. night of shadows

**THE PROLOGUE IS /NOT/ THE END.**

**Previously:**

How Sora and Riku are faring. Roxas and Organization XIII try to fit in. And Kairi gets an unexpected houseguest.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**ii: night of shadows**

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

"W-what?" Kairi spluttered, leaning backwards and nearly stepping on Sora's shoe. "I...what...I have..."

"_Riiiikuuu!_" Something black and incredibly fast suddenly collided with Riku's ribs, knocking the breath out of him. "_Riku Riku Riku!_"

"Yuffie," Leon's voice called over the cacophony of 'Riku's', and the ninja looked up from her deathgrip on the silver-haired teen. He resisted the urge to threaten the wiry girl, in fear of what Leon would do if he did.

"Yuffie," he choked out. "Geroff...me."

"No!" the ebony-haired girl pouted, clinging tighter to him. "Riku! So _you _are the silver-haired god that girl Selphie was going on and on about! Since when had you gotten so hot?"

Riku felt his cheeks flame up as he struggled to push Yuffie away; and that was no mean feat. She seemed to have an irongrip more suitable to people twice, even triple, her size. He really wanted to point out the fact that he was born that way, but judging from the look on Leon's face (as he looked up over Yuffie's head), it was not a very good thing to do right now.

Beside him, Sora was looking torn between feeling concerned for Kairi, who was now looking very pointedly at Leon, and between laughing at Riku. The brunet therefore settled for a cross between a grin and a frown that decidedly looked very neutral.

Good choice.

"Yu--_ffie_," he breathed out once more, panic starting to swirl at the back of his head. "Please."

"Come on," Leon suddenly said, "You heard him, Yuff. Wouldn't want to kill a Wielder, would you?"

The girl did loosen her grip, but she still refused to let go. Blinking equally black eyes at Riku, she looked over her shoulder and shot a pout at the long-haired brunet. "Squallie..."

"It's Leon."

Yuffie immediately let her arms drop to the sides and leapt back in one smooth motion.

Riku looked over his own shoulder, back into the living room where they had come from. He heard Kairi let out the tiniest of gasps, but Sora stared straight at the speaker impassively.

Rinoa raised two fingers in a mock salute as she reclined easily on the couch, the smile on her cherry-red lips never reaching her cold brown eyes. She stood up and flounced downwards on one knee, crossing her chest with one blue-ribbed arm. "Her Highness, Princess Kairi Dalmasca."

The glaring omission of the Leonhart, especially when Leon was supposed to be Kairi's sister, was something Riku took mental note of to ask about later.

The brown-haired woman straightened up and inclined her head at the two of them, him and Sora. "Wielders."

Riku blinked, but Sora was already nodding his head in reply. "Sorceress Rinoa."

He raised an eyebrow, before chancing a glance back into the kitchen. Yuffie was whispering something very fast into Leon's ear, and the brunet's grey eyes were turning steelier by the minute. However, with the way the ninja was clinging onto the front of his fur-trimmed jacket, and the way she was leaning on him on tiptoe, Riku decided that they looked quite more than friends.

He turned back to Rinoa, who had now taken to scrutinizing Sora's hair and wondering how it stayed so spiky.

Biting his lip, and memory working furiously, Riku thought about how the ebony-haired sorceress had reacted upon seeing Leon and Yuffie at the last Halloween Ball. Sure, almost a year had passed since then, but he didn't think someone, especially someone like Rinoa (who he was almost certain held the same bipolarity as Sora, and held ten times the power), would let such an issue of love slide.

Or maybe he was just being paranoid, he thought, as Yuffie came forwards and started voicing out her own opinions on Sora's hair gel. The brunet was now looking quite pale; he somehow knew that the two females were adversaries for Leon's affection.

Wait. Did Leon even show affection?

"Wait, wait, _wait!_" A flustered Kairi suddenly burst out, slightly stomping her foot.

The three foreigners (Riku noted the slight pause in Rinoa) immediately faced the auburn-haired Princess.

She looked more flustered than ever as the full attention of the three newcomers focused on her. "I d-don't understand," she said hurriedly, bowing her head and clasping her hands together. "Sir Leon--"

"Just Leon," Rinoa suddenly said, smiling again. The smile looked more fitting on a serial killer rather than a young woman like her. "I never get tired of saying that."

The brunet referred to forced a smile.

- o -

"What...is...this...?"

Riku stared dubiously into the amber contents of his glass, before taking a tentative sip. The resulting expression was one of total confusion.

Kairi resisted the urge to throw the honey spoon at the silver-haired Wielder. "You don't have to be so melodramatic. It's just barley tea."

"But...!" he looked down forlornly, studying the drink. "...I've never had barley tea before, Kairi. I had no idea you liked these."

She blinked. She _had_ never told any of her friends that she liked barley tea. She liked it ice-cold, served with half a teaspoon of honey, like her grandmother made it. It was like a closet obsession. She internally wondered why she hadn't told them before. While she was at Traverse Town, she remembered that she was the one who, regardless of her petite frame, almost always drank two full glasses of the amber drink.

It somehow reminded her of home...

"...barley tea! Aerith makes it quite good," Yuffie piped up. "It's like Radiant Garden's unofficial drink or something."

...but which home? The one she had grown up in, or the one Leon was now saying was hers?

Sora nodded in agreement. "Never knew you had even tasted barley tea before Traverse Town." He paused, laced his hands under his chin. and looked over his fingers at Leon. "Which brings us to the topic in mind."

"Hm," Rinoa's lips curved up into a half smile.

Leon raised an eyebrow. "You've grown up, Sora."

The brunet's sky-blue eyes turned darker, before stealing a glance at her. "A year can change everything, Leon," he said in a perfectly even voice, but his whitened knuckles betrayed his emotions. "I guess nobody has told you."

"Told me what?"

"That we're getting off topic!" Kairi said in a higher-pitched voice than she'd like it to come out, but she glared at Leon anyway. "First Sora, then me -- "

Rinoa set down her glass with a sharp _clink_. "Sora's lineage had nothing to do with you, Kairi," she said, ignoing the twin glares she was recieving, from what Kairi presumed, was not using the title _Princess_. Honestly, she preferred it that way.

Uh.

She already knew?

Riku coughed.

"Whatever," Leon cut in, waving a hand dismissively. He stirred the contents of his own glass a few times before addressing Sora. "How did my sister arrive on Destiny Islands?"

Kairi cringed at the way Leon referred to her as his sister. She winced for good measure when she realized she was hanging onto every single word of explanation that would come out of this.

"I found her washed up on the south side of the play island," the brunet said brusquely. "She was around six, wearing a white dress. Facedown, head turned to the right."

She blinked. That was over ten years ago, but Sora still remembered it?

The brunet man nodded to himself, leaning back in his chair. "Kairi..." he threw her a look, "Ansem the Wise told us to send her away."

At the sound of the name Rinoa threw a lock of hair over her shoulder nonchalantly. Kairi thought it was nothing until she noticed the violent miniature whirlpool raging inside her glass of barley tea.

Riku made a choking noise of outrage. "He _what_?"

"They had already known by then that she was a Princess of Heart. So Sir Ansem thought that wherever the Princess is sent off to, the supposed 'light' of her pure heart will guide her to a protector."

"Which was Sora," Aquamarine eyes flashed in the brunet's direction.

"I'm not saying anything," Holding up a hand to silence the silver-haired Wielder, Leon pressed on. "Kairi's biological parents were the real rulers of Radiant Garden; it has a _castle_, if you didn't notice...And that castle must've had someone to belong to, right? Ansem the Wise was only the kingdom steward after their Majesties passed on."

"Wait, wait, back up," Kairi cut in. "Ansem the Wise..." she alternated a look between Sora and Riku, "...this...he can't be the same guy Roxas and Naminé hate?"

"He is," Riku affirmed, averting his eyes in nobody's general direction. "DiZ."

"And he sent me away."

"And sent you away," the silver-haired Wielder repeated.

She crossed her arms. "I'd dearly like a word with this Ansem guy."

"He's dead," Sora said shortly, following suit and crossing his own arms over his chest. "It's over."

"Anyway!" Yuffie cut in with fake cheer. "To repeat what Leon said, Ansem was only the governor, per se, of Radiant Garden. He was the closest to the royal couple, so it was natural for him to assume authority until Kairi was eighteen."

Kairi bit her lip. "How...how did my real parents die?"

His voice faltered for a bit, but Leon shook it off. "Tron's records show they died of natural causes. The King of a stroke, the Queen of a heart attack right after." The brunet averted his eyes, at roughly the same time Rinoa closed hers. "I was sixteen around then. I remember helping Aerith drape black cloth out of the windows."

"Kairi was only three, four years old. She still didn't understand what had happened; still didn't understand that she was the rightful queen now. So we --- Yuffie, Aerith, Rinoa, Merlin, even Cloud --- treated her as if she were our own, and spread around rumors that the royal daughter had died also. We feared for her safety once people found out that she was the only heir remaining. When I turned eighteen, right before the botched Heartless experiment and Maleficent's arrival, I adopted her.

"Maleficent arrived with her Heartless, because Xehanort opened the door to darkness...they automatically went in search of Kairi. They somehow sniffed out she had a pure heart. So...instead of letting her stay and risk the Heartless taking her heart...we sent her off in a Gummi ship and hoped she'd end up okay."

- o -

"...okay, a bouquet of Farplane lilies. You do have to know that they cost a lot, considering the trouble we have to go through just to get them."

The blonde teen laughed, stud in his earlobe sparkling in the sun. He flashed her a grin, before reaching into his pocket and handing her a gold card.

Aerith raised an eyebrow as she took it. Embossed on the laminated rectangle was a serial number and the seal of Disney Kingdom, along with a barcode. Binary numbers, she presumed, spelled out initials. She recognized this card anywhere; Leon had handed her his for many a time now. "This is a Royal Treasury Account Card. You need to have express permission of the holder to use it."

"Or all I need is to tell you the PIN code."

She stepped over some buckets of chapel water gingerly, and the blonde teen followed suit. "True," she said out loud as she made her way into the main shop.

Aerith looked over her shoulder at the customer, still quite curious. He had shown up no less than ten minutes before, asking for Farplane lilies. As far as she knew, only a handful of people knew what Farplane lilies were. Still only a tenth of those people knew what the royal-purple lilies were for.

"I'm Demyx, by the way."

"Aerith Gainsborough," she offered in reply, pushing open the back door into her main flower shop. She made her way over to the link to the Town System and swiped the card.

"You're pretty famous even outside this World, you know," Demyx said airily. "They say you can get any flower, for a price."

She nodded in agreement, quite pleased that publicity was growing. "Okay, punch in the code," she instructed, moving away to write a reminder to tell Rinoa to get some of the flowers later. She had only recently announced that the said lilies were for sale; the ebony-haired sorceress had told her those things always bloomed at some place that she had come across.

Aerith shivered involuntarily. She had last seen the girl almost ten years ago, and back then, she was still quite sweet and innocent. But when she had come back, the only things that haven't changed were her age...and her appearance. Everything else...down the drain. Sure, Rinoa almost always hid behind her customary smile, but that smile was fake, and the nonchalant attitude she had shown towards Leon and Yuffie's relationship was even faker.

But Leon insisted it wasn't.

"Done," Demyx's voice rang throughout the shop, the card held securely between his fingers.

She handed him a calling card. "Pick it up the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah," the mulleted teen cheered. "Thanks, Aerith."

He pushed the glass door open and disappeared into the crowd of people in the Marketplace.

Shaking her head, she paused for a moment before remembering she still had some watering to do. She retraced her steps back into the rear of the shop, gathering some things and pulling on gloves on the way.

Aerith started humming a tune as she pushed the back door open, and froze.

"What **are**you doing?"

- o -

"And she did," Leon concluded, tilting his head in Sora's general direction. "At least, I'd like to think so."

He looked over at the brunet Wielder's direction, and forced the urge to cringe down his throat. Sky-blue eyes stared back at him with a ferocity that told him Sora had picked up the subtle hints of his challenge to prove that being Kairi's guardian was _his_ duty.

He had heard stories.

About how Sora had saved Destiny Islands, how he had turned into a Nobody, how he came back.

But mostly how he had become a Nobody. That meant his heart had already been released from his body twice. That meant he was extremely unstable.

Leon also wanted to know if Sora could balance two colossal tasks at the same time. Being a Keyblade Wielder and being a Knight at the same time. A Knight who was supposed to protect his sister.

His gaze was extremely unsettling. They didn't belong on such a youthful face; somehow, Sora's eyes looked disturbingly similar to Rinoa's, when she wasn't in Angel Wing. There was something there; a sort of innocence. A tightness behind the eyes that spoke volumes of hardship and sacrifice. There was also a sort of sharpness that said they both had witnessed bloodshed, and was not new to it.

He wondered if the stories that Sora had killed were true.

Remembering the cheerful, optimistic, and most importantly, _pure_ boy he had met in Traverse Town before, it seemed like the Sora before him was a completely different person.

There it was again. The similarity to Rinoa was outstanding. If Rinoa's change was on the inside only, so was Sora's. It took the Wielder one year to gain that look. She took ten years to do so. Rinoa changed because of the darkness. But Sora...all he knew was that he had turned Nobody. But how...

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled uncomfortably, as the brunet Wielder's eyes never left his own.

His left eye flashed yellow, and a ghost of a smirk pulled up the edges of his lips.

And just like that, Sora had leant back and laced his fingers behind his head, yawning.

Leon followed suit, leaning back into his chair and trying to calm to pounding of his heart. The boy's eye hadn't flashed Heartless yellow, right? He was just too damn paranoid.

Wasn't he?

- o -

"What **are**you doing?"

Roxas froze, unable to take his hand off the security-system failsafe installed behind the flower shop.

He was _so_ screwed. Demyx hadn't yelled loud enough. He was supposed to let Roxas know when he was finished distracting Aerith. But _no_, number Nine had probably thought he had supersonic hearing or anything of that sort.

Or maybe Demyx hadn't counted on the shop being that large; while it looked small from the street, when one entered, it was like Marluxia's greenhouse. Large, stuffy, and very dangerous. Beautiful, he had to admit, because of all the flowers planted in neat rows.

But anyway, back to the situation.

Piercing jade eyes narrowed, and Roxas cowered. Man, this lady could stare. And when she stared, it was like he was paralyzed or something. She would make a truly fearsome mother someday.

"What are you doing?" she repeated, planting both latex-gloved hands on her hips.

"Uh...I was...you know..."

"No. I don't."

"I was checking out the plants for our independent study!" he blurted out, his legs starting to cramp from keeping crouched for so long.

Aerith leant forwards. "Really?"

Roxas was internally grateful that he had chosen to wear his Twilight-Town clothes rather than his Organization XIII coat. The worst thing Aerith was probably presuming he was doing, because of his nonthreatening appearance, was stealing or damaging her plants. Not stealing or damaging the town's defense system. Yeah. Not that.

He was even more grateful that it wasn't Leon or Tifa or --heaven forbid-- Yuffie who caught him.

Emerald eyes stared at him. He stared back as best as he could, but he was slowly losing the match. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as she leant even closer.

Oh, cripes, Superior was going to _kill_ him for this.

Maybe after Naminé killed Demyx and him for taking her RTA card without permission. Hey, it was just lying around. It wasn't their fault that it was just theirs for the taking, _no_, for the borrowing. Yeah. That was it.

Farplane lilies cost only a thousand money per stem, anyway.

He cringed. Naminé **was** going to kill him.

"Ah!" Aerith had seemed to reach a conclusion, and it seemed not to involve any violence. Roxas let out a thankful sigh.

"I know what you're doing," she said in a superior tone, and Roxas was able to stand up as she walked away. He didn't dare to portal out; who knew what weapon Aerith held? "You're checking out Radiant Garden, aren't you?"

"Eh?" Nobody or not, Roxas was feeling total bewilderment right now.

"You're Sir Roxas Dalmasca, right?"

_I'm screwed, I'm screwed_, the small voice in his head kept repeating, and Roxas forced a smile. Nodded. Tried shoving a fistful of something down that small voice's throat. Anything for it to stop. "Yes, I am."

To add to his confusion, the brunette laughed pleasantly. "Don't worry. Our defenses are top-notch; the Princess Kairi will be safe here."

He stared at her, cold sweat running down his back in rivulets.

"Don't play dumb with me, Roxas," she laughed again, now picking up a glass watering can with sky-blue liquid inside it. Aerith stared watering a row of plants with white and orange flowers. "You must've come here to check if the Garden can protect Kairi, right?"

Roxas decided that the most intelligent thing to do was to play along. He feigned relief. "Well..." he stuck out his lower lip for good measure, trying to look exasperated, although he knew nothing about what he was talking about. "I told her that Radiant Garden's one of the most heavily guarded Worlds, but no..."

"Awww..." to his surprise, Aerith reached over and pinched his cheek. "You're so protective."

"Hey!" he said, annoyed. It only added to the feigned emotions, however.

"You should just watch out for Leon," the brunette continued, tossing her braid over her shoulder. "His overprotective brother complex is frightening. But..." she sighed, continuing in a manner that was more talking to herself than talking to Roxas, "...it was ten years before we found her. Leon wasn't sure when Kairi first arrived in Traverse Town, since he crown pendant was missing. But after Rinoa told me we should try to find out more about Radiant Garden's past...well...we finally found our Princess."

"Uh..." Roxas blinked warily, starting to back away. "...yeah. Uhm. I'll go off and tell Kairi then. T-thanks, Aerith."

She waved him off with a smile and a dismissive hand, and resumed humming to herself.

He sprinted off, turning into the first deserted alley he found and opening a portal. Bad point: Aerith saw him, and now knew that Roxas had visited Radiant Garden. Good point: he now knew something that would probably bring back memories for the Superior.

Another good point: He wasn't caught!

Another bad point: Leon and the others were bound to ask how he knew Kairi was Radiant Garden Princess...or whatever.

Still another good point: Roxas could now probably go back and forth from Radiant Garden with the excuse that he was 'checking it out for Kairi'.

Still another bad point, he thought, as he stepped into the portal and walked into the Corridors. He nervously adjusted his jacket, as he walked out into his room at the Castle that Never Was.

Superior had _better_ give him compensation for this mission.

"_Roxas Dalmasca! Where the _hell_ is my RTA card?h!_"

- o -

Sora watched Leon's little inner debate with amusement. People often told him that his stares were the stuff of nightmares that kept children up at night. Maybe it had gotten to Leon. He hoped it had gotten to the brunet.

Who was he to assume that he wasn't capable enough to guard Kairi? The fact that he had said that he was the auburn-haired teen's older brother didn't make it true. For all he knew this could be another plot.

_Dang, you have to stop being so paranoid._

"I have a question," he spoke up, breaking the silence after Leon's explanation. "Where's your proof?"

"Where did you get that crown necklace?" the brunet man countered.

Sora narrowed his eyes. Why did Leon have to be so hostile? "I--"

"I gave it to him, for his birthday," Riku cut in, aquamarine eyes watching the both of them carefully. He was clutching the sides of his glass convulsively with pale hands, and if Sora watched closely, they were shaking minutely. Eh?

There was a familiar prickling at the back of his throat. He just couldn't place it.

"Did you buy it?" Leon pressed on.

"No," the silver-haired teen said quietly, but in a noticeably strained voice. Sora leant forward on his elbows. "I found it. On the beach. It the night after Sora found Kairi."

Steel-grey eyes flashed for a moment, and Leon allowed himself a smile. "Point taken."

"Eh?"

Reaching up to the nape of his throat, Sora undid the clasp of the crown necklace and held it in his hand, watching it under the light of the swinging kitchen fixture. It suddenly hit him, and he shut his jaw before it even dropped open. He had seen this shape repeatedly during his visits to Radiant Garden. "This..." he stood up, and fastened it around a surprised Kairi's neck, "is yours, right?" he said absently.

"Seventeen-carat pure mythril," Rinoa said, the tips of her fingers touching together as she followed the movements of the crown necklace as the auburn-haired girl examined it. Sora was forcibly reminded of a cat watching a particularly tasty mouse. "Provides third-level spell protection, and doubles magic defence. A family heirloom. The official symbol of Radiant Garden, and proof that the bearer is of the royal family."

"Third-level?" Riku raised an eyebrow. "Third-level spell protection?" he turned to Sora. "Hey. Did you know that?"

He shook his head in the negative, settling his hands on the backrest of Kairi's seat. She looked over her shoulder up at him, her beryl eyes questioning.

"Add it to those magical clothes of Sora's," Yuffie said, eyes half-lidded, "No wonder he's near invulnerable."

"Sorry," Stroking Kairi's hair, he frowned. "I had no idea it was yours."

"It is, Sora," she replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She undid the clasp and cradled it carefully in a palm, before handing it up to him. "You need it more. I'm giving it to you."

They stared at each other for a moment, reaching a silent understanding.

There was that prickling at the back of his throat again.

"Excuse me," Riku suddenly stood up, the legs of his chair scraping against the tiled floor. "I'll be right back."

The silver-haired Keyblade Master backed out of the kitchen and out into the living room, going to the restroom, no doubt. Sora took the necklace and replaced it around his neck, before staring worriedly at the direction Riku had gone off to. He looked quite pale, paler than usual.

"Yuffie," Leon suddenly spoke up, touching a gloved hand to the girl's shoulder. She had pillowed her head on the kitchen table, and was breathing in the evenness of sleep. At Leon's touch she twitched, but remained asleep nonetheless.

"She's been running around quite a lot," Rinoa suddenly spoke fondly, before smiling and turning to him and Kairi. "She and that girl...Selphie, was it? They were giggling and generally wreaking mischief. You should never leave them alone together, or you might not have to wait for the Heartless to destroy this World."

Sora blinked. Either Rinoa was a very good actor, or she really did have a soft spot for Yuffie. The tone of voice and the geniune smile confused him.

It, also, evidently confused Leon, who was now trying hard but miserably failing not to stare at the sorceress.

Kairi laughed, apparently finding nothing amiss. "Does Yuffie like sugar?"

"Pocky," Rinoa named the sweet, chuckling slightly. "We need to order a whole case every week."

"Same with Selphie!" she clasped her hands together, leaning forward. "She's scary when she's just finished with a box. Her tackles can seriously injure whenever she really gets into it."

"Does she really? She and Yuffie hugged it other like they were long-lost sisters...or something. I swear, the earth under them cracked with the amount of hyperness they gave off."

Sora, at this point, was confused. Really confused. Momentarily pushing aside the fact that he quite disliked Leon, he exchanged glances with the other brunet.

Leon shrugged, expression quite bewildered for somebody who rarely showed emotion.

He turned his attention back to his Princess and the sorceress, who were now giggling like _they_ were the long-lost sisters. Judging from the ferocity that Rinoa was showing earlier, this side of her, the rather normal side, the one like the seventeen-year old that she was stuck perpetually as, was understandably questionable.

"Hey, sorry," Riku suddenly appeared at the kitchen doorframe, looking like he had splashed himself vigoriously with cold water. He hesitated for a moment, taking in the scene of Rinoa and Kairi holding in their giggles, of Yuffie sleeping soundly on the table, and of Leon and Sora exchanging awkward glances with each other.

"...uh," he managed to say coherently, before eyeing Sora. "I thought that was Kairi's," he said, motioning to the necklace.

"She gave it to me," he said shortly.

"Oh. Okay." Riku blinked a few more times for good measure. "Hey Kai, I met your dad, I mean," he shot a look at Leon, "The Mayor. He's saying that no matter who your visitors are, they can only stay until midnight. At least, until he gets to meet them himself."

"Oh, shoot," the redwine-locked teen said helplessly, before turning to Leon. "It's almost midnight. Uhm...do you have a place to stay?"

"We--"

"They can stay with us," Riku suddenly voiced out, crossing his arms, eyea glowing aqua as he was silhouetted against the doorframe. He didn't look at Sora; instead, his gaze focused on Leon. "Right, So?"

He didn't get what Riku was trying to get across, but he shrugged a yes nonetheless. "Sure, Ri." He was even surprised by the sudden use of his nickname, but what the hell. "You three can squeeze in."

"Hey," Rinoa suddenly said, addressing Leon. "I thought we were going back right after we tell Kairi."

The brunet hesitated for a moment, clearly surprised by the rather normal way (without the normal spite that one would direct at somebody who exchanged her for another girl) Rinoa spoke to him. "I'm not leaving without my sister."

After glares in triplicate, however, he amended his terms. "Or at least, until she tells me her decision whether she goes or stays."

"It's settled then!" Kairi said happily, clasping her hands together. She stood up and motioned for Sora to come closer, tugging on his hand as she pulled him towards Riku.

"Are you okay with this?" she asked the silver-haired teen.

He shrugged. "As long as nobody gets violent. I'm sure that Leon will be finding out ways to keep tabs on you any--"

"Sshh!" she silenced him with a finger over his lips. "Not here. We'll talk about this whole royalty thing, I promise. Right now, you two should keep an eye on them."

Sora grinned. "You sound like you're planning something."

Kairi only smiled in reply, before turning around and bowing in the three foreigners' direction. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to continue this tomorrow."

He watched as Leon deftly picked up Yuffie, bouncing her on one knee to get her settled before looking pointedly at Riku. Rinoa had set to arranging the chairs once more, not appearing to be the least bothered by the brunet's affectionate gesture.

"So," the sorceress put her hands on her hips. "Where to? I hope you have hot water and good shampoo."

Sora raised an eyebrow. He had no idea how to make head or tail of the sorceress' disposition. One moment she's a cold, aloof woman, the next moment she's the warm teenage girl one would expect of her appearance. Maybe bipolarity came with the package of power, dark or not.

He suddenly realized Riku was looking at him expectantly, and he felt embarassment paint his cheeks scarlet. "Oh, right."

He rummaged in his belt-bags for the thalassa-keychain, and summoned the Keyblade. Sora changed the Keychains so that the Kingdom Key transmuted into the angelic Oathkeeper. Riku was going to use the Corridors of Darkness to get them back quickly to their home, but Sora had to temporarily disable the protective wards of light he had placed around Kairi's home.

He pointed the Oathkeeper downwards, and the whole floor shone with a rather muted light. He knew that outside the light was tracing the outline of a large heart; symbolizing that he was drawing on the power of Kingdom Hearts to keep Kairi safe.

He let the light fade, and swung the Keyblade over his shoulder. "Okay, Riku. Go."

The silver-haired teen swept out a hand and opened a portal, the ribbons of darkness twirling around them. Sora felt particularly affected as he lifted up a hand; the ribbon of black started curling around his fingers in a caress.

He remembered it doing the same thing, back when he was half--

"Hey, Sora!" Riku's voice called him as if from a very long distance. A hand waved repeatedly in front of him. "Anyone in there? Oi!"

He blinked, and stepped backwards. Rinoa, Leon, and Yuffie had already gone through the portal, and Riku was staring at him with a bemused expression on his face.

"You can walk back, right?"

Sora blinked, trying to comprehend what Riku was saying. Oh, right. He was supposed to restore the wards _after_ the portal was closed. It meant that he was going to have to go back on his own. "Yeah. Sure. See ya."

His best friend nodded, and disappeared into the oval of darkness. The portal faded away, as did the strings of black it left in its wake.

There was that irritating prickling again.

Gritting his teeth, he pointed Oathkeeper at the floor again, and called on his protective wards. The glow from the floor was much brighter this time, meaning that Kingdom Hearts had lent its power once more.

He walked up to the front door and stepped outside, taking Kairi's small and warm hand in his as they stood together on her front porch. The thalassa-shell charm glinted as he dismissed the Keyblade, and he pocketed it.

Stupid prickling. Even more stupd was the fact that he couldn't place where he had felt it before.

Trying to bite back the feeling, Sora grinned as he turned around to face Kairi. Her blue-violet eyes glowed in the moonlight as she stepped up to him, and placed her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked, knowing full well that it was a question that nobody answered truthfully.

"Yeah..." her voice sounded muffled. "It's just...too much, you know? One moment you're the crown prince, another, I'm the crown princess. I'm wishing it's our very own fairytale, but it's not..."

"Don't worry, Kai," Sora comforted her, tucking her head under his chin as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

_You could get killed_.

"I know I shouldn't worry, but still," she looked up, and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I can't help it."

He returned the favor, but took a tad bit longer. When he pulled back his cheeks felt warm, and a blush was playing across the bridge of the auburn-haired teen's nose. He grinned bashfully, and took both her hands in his. "Told ya. Don't worry. Now get some sleep."

She nodded. "Goodnight. Love you."

"Love you too."

He watched as Kairi smiled at him once more and turned on her heels, pushing the front door open and locking it with a audible _click_.

Sora sighed as he hopped down the porch and onto the paved walkway. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he started to walk, the evening breeze ruffling his spikes. The moon cast his shadow on the road, and he could see his hair swaying in time to the breeze. He chuckled to himself.

The prickling was getting worse. Frowning, he stopped under a lamppost and furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what it was and why it felt so--

He had two shadows.

And the other one had its arm slung around the original one's shoulders, making a victory sign with its other hand.

His blood ran cold, and he froze in his tracks, eyes wide. He realized what the prickling was, and why it had felt so familiar. Why Riku had to rush out of the room. He probably couldn't take the stress of holding him back.

No wonder his throat prickled everytime he looked at Kairi, Leon, Yuffie, or even Riku.

_Mmmm. Hearts. _

"Hell, no."

_Buddy-boy..._Antiform's voice echoed slyly in his head, and the other shadow jumped free, slinking back into the other shadows of the night.

"Oh Creator, no."

_Pssh, even if you name them all supernatural things, it won't change anything. Ahahah. Buddyboy..._

The prickling at the back of his throat was his familiar craving for blood.

_...I'm baaack_.

Antiform giggled.

The bloodlust hit him like a truck, and Sora whirled around in desperation, trying to call on the Keyblade; the Kingdom Key. It came with a terrible familiarity: the Reverse Keyblade appeared in his white-knuckled fist. Fighting back a yell he dismissed the Keyblade and fell to his knees, trying to blur out the craving for blood.

_Oooh, I've missed you, buddyboy._

"Shut it, Dar--" his breath hitched, he had almost used that term of endearment for Antiform.

_Darkie. Call me Darkie, buddyboy. Just like the old times, yeah? _

He clutched an arm around his stomach, and used the other to steady himself on the concrete. He didn't wan't to lose control here, not when the nearest house was Kairi's -_oh God no-, _he needed a blood pack and he needed it _now_.

Whoosh.

He looked up at the sudden sound, and was horrified to see a portal to the Corridors right there in front of him. The tendrils of black were starting to reach out to him once more.

In his desperation, he realized, he had summoned a portal. Of darkness. When he was supposed to be of the **light**.

_You can't teach an old dog new tricks, yanno. Or in your case, you can't teach a dark Wielder tricks of the light. Or whatever the hell applies to you._

"Darkie, shut up," the words slipped out of his lips so easily he frightened himself.

_See? See? Just like old friends._

Letting out a muted roar of anguish, Sora managed to get to his feet and he stumbled into the portal, knowing that it would lead him into his room. He had never bothered to put up the wards in his room again, thinking that he'd never need it.

_Or because..._Antiform gave him the mental picture of tapping his chin thoughtfully,_ ...you knew that someday, you yourself would need to portal back. Darkness will never let you go, Sora-poo..._

And the most unsettling thing was, Antiform was right.

- o -


	4. too much of a good thing

Judging from my latest oneshot, one could say that I'm in a pretty sad mood lately. Sorry. This fic is under angst, after all.

Warning: extremely long chapter.

**Previously: **Leon explains, and gives Sora the evil eye. Roxas gets busted. And **he's** _baaaac_k.

**- iii: too much of a good thing-**

"Oh no."

Tidus threw Riku a look that could melt steel. He just shrugged it off and attributed it to the fact that the blonde was overly protective of the curly-haired brunet.

"Don't look at me," he smiled wanly. "Blame Leon."

The blitzballer narrowed his eyes and watched impassively as Yuna and Naminé continued their gushing over Leon, and as Selphie and Yuffie basically crippled half of the entire school population by glomping them. Yes, glomping them. That was a word Riku did not normally use, but it was the one that best suited the occasion.

And Selphie glomping was much like a sixteen-wheeler truck hitting you head on; Yuffie, from his experience two days before, was very much like her, thus explaining the number of students now lying breathless on the grass, rubbing their ribcages gingerly.

"He's so damn gorgeou -- oh," Yuna said apologetically, giggling slightly at the look on her boyfriend's face. Tidus did not look happy; he was a very possessive teen (although he rarely showed it), and the fact that Leon was good-looking enough to make normally docile Yuna curse...well...he didn't take it in the best of moods.

Naminé feigned a nosebleed, before falling into hysterical giggles with Yuna.

Riku raised an eyebrow as he caught Roxas' eye; he and Tidus were leaning on the same wall, staring soberly at the scene before them. Number Thirteen then closed his eyes and took what seemed to be deep, calming breaths.

"What **happened**?" A stunned Kairi cried, slapping her hands to her cheeks. She rounded on Leon and Rinoa, who were sitting on the same wooden bench along the pathway. "We just went to get some books, and in that span of time, you managed to let chaos loose?"

"Hey, that rhymes," Sora said from behind her, carrying an armload of bound material. He was about to say something else when the auburn-haired girl threw him a glare, and he immediately fell silent.

Leon just shrugged.

Rinoa yawned, and just nodded off.

Yuffie and Selphie, hand-in-hand with matching blue plaid uniforms, streaked past, laughing wildly.

It was the Monday after they had arrived, and Leon point-blank refused to leave until Kairi gave an answer. Riku had sensed that the auburn-haired girl would need a lot more time than a few days to decide whether she believed in the brunet's account or not, so he (and Sora; can't forget Sora) offered to let them stay, for an indefinite period of time.

Yuffie had taken to declaring herself as a sit-in student; and since Destiny Academy was a public academy, she was allowed to attend classes as long as she didn't cause any deaths. Or something like that; the rules have long been blurred since Organization XIII had started teaching.

Leon stayed close to Kairi and started trailing her wherever she went, insisting on her safety (with more than a few pointed looks at another certain brunet). He still wore his leather jacket, however, even in the sweltering island weather. The man seemed immune to the humidity.

Rinoa, probably because she had nothing else to do but to wait until Leon and Yuffie leave, tagged along.

The ebony-haired ninja bounced into view, giggling madly. Riku couldn't help but notice the fond expression Leon was regarding her with; it was the same face Roxas wore every time he was with Naminé.

"This is _so_ amazing," she practically shrieked, leaning over at the waist, fingers still firmly intertwined with the curly-haired brunette's. "Selphie says we're just in time for the Graduation Ball!" She went into one of her hyper rants once more, a ritual that, from Riku's experience, was one that Yuffie repeats every five minutes or so, "A _dance, _Leon! I mean, when was the last time you went to a social event and actually _da--_"

Yuffie paused.

Rinoa coughed lightly.

The bell rung, signalling the start of another class period.

Riku blinked; for a second there, the tension was so great that he could take his Keyblade and cut through it. He bit his lip and turned to the ebony-haired women, searching his mind for something to break the metaphorical ice. "Uh--"

"The Grad Ball," Sora said absently, empty gaze seeping over him. "Riku...this is your last year..."

His heart seized momentarily, before frowning. He didn't have time to think about that; not during the past year, not even this year. He was so caught up with making sure Sora was safe and making sure that the _world_ was safe. "I guess I am, aren't I?" he asked softly, mind running wild with the thousands of possibilities he could do. Where would he go next? Destiny University? Radiant Garden Institute?

His musings were cut short by a small but very strong hand pushing itself into the small of his back. Looking up, he saw that the Quad was almost empty, save for them. He looked over his shoulder and flinched; Rinoa was there, smiling.

"Hey, Wielder, get your head down from the clouds and get to class."

He managed a smile, ignoring the tremor that her smile sent down his spine. "Yes, ma'am."

-- x -- x --

Roxas eyed the latest offering of the cafeteria with apprehension. In all fairness he had done everything he could to like the stuff, but to no avail. Somehow, the food here naturally had an aversion for Nobodies. Or, at least, Nobodies who had experienced Lexaeus' cooking.

"Hm," he frowned, walking up to the line and getting a tray. Whatever. It was still food.

He was in the process of choosing what he'd have today when he noticed he was right behind a very conspicous crown of spiky cinnamon hair. Testament to that fact was that people were staring, like whenever he was with Sora. They were practically twins, after all.

"Sora," he said, more of a statement than a greeting, putting a firm hand on the brunet's shoulder.

The Keyblade Master flinched violently, looking over his shoulder with frightened eyes so wide it was comical. Roxas grinned at his expression. "Way nice greeting, Sora. Try to look more surprised, would you?"

Something flashed across his eyes before he managed a small, pained grin of his own. "Sorry, people just don't go up to peope and clap them on a shoulder," a sarcastic pause, "Especially to people like me."

Roxas snorted. If it wasn't for the subtle fact that Sora was referring to, he'd start to think that he was one of the most arrogant people he had ever had the misfortune to know. He took a hamburger and two cartons of fries from the counter, and tossed a fork in his Other's direstion, noting the plate of spaghetti he had on his own tray. Sora squeaked, catching the plastic utensil gingerly.

Sky-blue eyes glanced hastily around as he set the fork on his tray with trembling fingers.

Number Thirteen frowned once again. "What's up with you?"

Sora shook his head, dropping a handful of paper napkins and diving gracefully to get them.

He waited for the spiky-haired Wielder to stand up once more, and Roxas tried a different method of attack. He peered over Sora's shoulder, noting his choice of food. Weird. He didn't know his Other had a liking for that paopu-strawberry cooler. At least, that's what the package looked like. He voiced out his thoughts. "Is that good?"

Sora looked confused for a moment, and Roxas swore he blanched (like Sora could even blanch) before he spoke in a voice with well-concealed shakiness. "Yeah. Definitely," he added, like he was unsure of what he was saying.

"Seriously," he said slowly, "Sora. Spit it out," he furrowed his eyebrows as the line moved. "What's wrong?"

He was well aware of the whole lunch line listening with bated breath; if a Keyblade Master deemed something was wrong, then something probably _was_ wrong. Especially if it was Sora, living legend.

However, the Wielder in question merely shrugged, then shook his head for good measure.

Roxas sensed he should let it drop, but another voice in his head told him not to. He therefore settled for something in between. "So...what do you think about Leon's side? You think he's really Kairi's brother?"

"..."

Never had the golden-haired teen been more confused in his life. Sora was normally the most talkative one of the group, even if all that his talk could be considered as some form of babbling one way or another. But now, all the brunet did was look around and stare at Roxas in an oddly detached way, fingering the silver crown necklace slung around his neck with practiced nervousness.

"Come on, what--"

Before he could even get another word out, Sora had already handed his money to the cashier and had already sped off, vanishing into the lunch crowd, tray in hand and eyes gazing at something distant.

-- x -- x --

It was hard not telling Roxas, but Sora wasn't sure if he could. Well, no, he knew that he could actually tell Roxas...just, not right now. Even he himself was getting confused by this turn of events, and Roxas' subtle questions did him no good. He almost had a heart attack when his Nobody had mentioned the 'juice' he had on his tray. If the golden-haired Wielder had looked closely enough, he'd notice that it was paopu all right...just not strawberry.

He'd been quite careless lately...He had a lot on his mind to think about such things as hiding his blood-packs. And frankly, he was tired of thinking, anyway.

What did King Mickey mean by offering to adopt him? Other than the obvious fact that he wanted to make up for the whole Knighting thing?

Maybe he just wanted to keep a closer eye on him. The mouse monarch didn't trust Riku, Roxas, Kairi, and Zexion's combined control over Antiform. And for good reason too. He shivered involuntarily, narrowly missing bumping into a crowd of first years and a crowd of seniors at different times. Never had the trek from the line to the table seemed so long.

If he went on with the prince thing, maybe he'd get a chance to be Kairi's knight in shining armor, literally and figuratively. He would have an excuse to meet with Kairi if she takes Leon's proposal. But it would consist of being near somebody he hated with a passion.

If he didn't go with King Mickey, however (now that he thought about it), he'd be losing the protection that the Corenerstone will provide free of suspicion. Since nobody knew that Antiform was awake, nobody would suspect a thing if the Keyblade Wielder stayed close to the Cornerstone. They'd just naturally assume that Sora was there because he was the crown prince.

But he just really did not want to come under his sphere of influence once more. He didn't want to be used once again as some tool for the realm of Light. Even if he was actually _made_ for that job.

It was more con than pro, Sora decided, and it, eerily like his own life, didn't look like it was going to look up soon.

He ignored Leon's pointed glare, sat down at their table, and started to eat.

-- x -- x --

Leon looked up when the cinnamon-haired Wielder sat down at their table, and threw his most venomous look. He noted that Sora didn't even flinch. He's only the second person to do that, the first being Aerith. (On a side note, Aerith would win any staring contest hands down, he decided.)

It was the usual lunch banter. Riku was sipping his iced tea slowly, almost carefully, eyes darting around for a reason he couldn't fathom. Selphie and Yuffie were having a who-can-eat-more-gummi-bears contest. He sighed, shook his head, reached over the young ninja's shoulder and took the gummi bears, knowing that Yuffie had had enough sugar for today.

"Leeeon..." she whined, but miraculously, she didn't try to sneak the rubbery sweet back.

He smiled. He was Leon, man of only one face, and that face was a scowl. Only Yuffie could break that mask, just like Rinoa had before, ten years ago. But Rinoa...

Roxas arrived at the table and nudged Naminé aside, who was playing with the tomatoes on her hamburger. The flaxen-haired girl looked up for a second and offered him a smile and a seat.

Two years ago Leon would not have thought that Nobodies could do more than go and wreak havoc. But these two perfectly teenage ones...they were just like ordinary people. He had seen them fight, both of them sulk in separate occasions (he'd know; Roxas would be seen in Sora and Riku's home, asking for advice on girls. Naminé would show her 'feelings' in more action than word; she'd just unceremoniously get up and leave whenever Roxas entered the ssame room.), be affectionate with each other, and everything one would expect from a building relationship -- sans the heart.

Naminé proved to be a very good advice giver; at times she'd seem frighteningly similar to Aerith. Roxas was very protective of the people he hypothetically loved. It was proved by the fact that he gave Leon the Look every chance he got, Leon thought dryly. Like right now.

The back of his neck prickled, and he looked just in time to see Sora take a long draught of his...whatever his drink was. Strawberry?

Something was really off, he decided. Like the times when Rinoa was completely in Angel Wing...but at least the ebony-haired sorceress had wings to warn him. Sora only had a flash of amber eyes.

Frowning, he stood up and excused himself.

"I'm going for some air," he said simply, and left it at that. Yuffie reached out for his hand and squeezed it. Bless her, she knew Leon's habits, and she had never questioned them.

Riku raised an eyebrow, but Sora just shrugged and waved with a too-cheery "Sure, Leon," before turning in his seat to talk to Roxas and Naminé.

Leon awkwardly nodded, and headed off, the crowd clearing a path for him as he went. The longer he stayed next to Sora, the more he felt he was treading on hostile ground.

"Hey! Leon, you should watch where you're going!"

He looked down, and his eyes widened. He let himself relax. "Kairi. I thought you had run off or something."

The auburn-haired teen smiled bemusedly. "No way. Finished with lunch?"

"You could say that."

There was something carefully guarded about their conversation. He knew his sister's patience was already very tightly-strung about her whole princess-of-Radiant-Garden issue, but he just had to warn her about Sora. Blind love and trust would do no good, especially if the confidant was someone who was, in all probability, bipolar.

Shaking his head, he took a tentative step forward. "Listen, Kairi, about Sora -- "

Beryl eyes hardened instantly, and her voice took on a distinct frostiness. "What about him?"

"Leon, stop."

That was Rinoa, coming out of the nearest girls' washroom, looking no different than she had ten years ago. Forever seventeen. She and Kairi were the same age now, technically, and the ebony-haired sorceress looked much more like Kairi's relative than him.

He raised an eyebrow. "No," he answered coolly, crossing his arms. "I have to tell you this. I don't like Sora."

"We figured that much," Kairi said sarcastically. "The frequent glares were kind of proof enough."

"He seems off."

"He's been through a lot," she shot back, before letting out a squeak of regret.

Leon smiled indulgently. This was his chance to know more about the brunet, to know how he had become so...different, somehow. "Like what?"

"Don't push it," Rinoa said quietly. He dared silence her with a glare, and the sorceress looked away. What did _she_ know? Where had she been these past years, he wondered? And why was she stopping him from gaining his sister's trust? It was she who suggested to Aerith that they dig up Radiant Garden's past in the first place. What did she have in mind?

Kairi bit her lip, obviously torn between letting Leon have hell or keeping whatever she was keeping secret. "You don't want to know," she said, expression darkening.

"Do I?"

"You think you know everything," she breathed angrily, "but you don't. Sora has gone to hell and back. He lost everything."

There was an unspoken '_including his heart_' after that, and Leon smiled inwardly. A little more...

"Don't you dare question his loyalties. It took him his life to discover what they were. Don't you dare make his life any worse than it is right now. Not now when the King's had a brilliant stroke of ingenuity and suddenly decided to offer Sora the crown princeship. He's got enough on his plate and I don't want you to be adding to it," she finished, chest heaving and eyes thunderous.

Well, that seemed to be fruitful.

"What?" that was Rinoa. "King Mickey's adopting Sora?"

Kairi seemed to realize what she had said, and she colored an admirable shade of red. She looked down, horrified. "I thought you knew, Rinoa."

"I didn't," she replied, perfect brows drawing together.

Leon nodded, thinking furiously. King Mickey was adopting Sora? What was the mouse monarch trying to do?

"Sora's the hero, Leon," Kairi said finally, a note of hardness in her voice that betrayed the fact that he had touched a nerve close to her heart. "And sometimes, the hero needs saving too."

She spun on her heels and stalked away, a scowl on her face. Leon watched her go with slight amusement.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye, and gestured for Rinoa. It seemed awfully awkward, but she seemed to far deep in her musings to care. "Let's go?"

She only frowned thoughtfully. "Lead the way, Squall."

-- x -- x --

The tension in the house was unbelievable. It was like everyone was walking on eggshells all day long and didn't dare to ask anything about it.

If the past week was torture, then the past few days were hell.

Add to the Leon situation the Riku factor.

Riku.

Sora sighed. His silver-haired best friend was going to graduate tomorrow. He had always been destined for great things, and his education was no exception. He didn't deserve to be tied down to Destiny Islands forever. It was him who suggested the idea of seeing other worlds in the first place, right?

No matter how selfish he sounded, however, Sora wasn't actually eager to see Riku go...but he couldn't stand in the way of his best friend's happiness. Not after all that Riku had done for him.

Sora sometimes wished his life wasn't this complicated. He secretly yearned for the times when the Keyblade didn't flash into life into his hand whenever he felt threatened; the times when all he cared about was the beach and the sea and school and beating the _hell_ out of Riku and impressing Kairi--

That killed it right there.

Groaning, he buried his head under his pillow and clasped it over his ears, wishing that the childish act would make it all go away.

"What's up with you?"

The brunet rolled over to lie flat on his back as he pillowed his head. Riku was looking at him with a puzzled expression on his face as he towel-dried his hair. Now wearing grey board shorts and a simple white shirt with a crown printed on it, it was obvious that the teen had just finished taking a shower.

"Finally," Sora rolled his eyes, and resumed his former position, although he was resting his chin now on the white case of feathers. "I thought you died in there. I mean, a guy can only take so long in washing his _hair_..."

A wet towel hit him squarely at the back of the head, flattening his spikes a little.

"Ex_cuse_ me, " the silver-haired teen huffed, now facing a mirror and struggling to untangle the knots in his hair, "At least I actually wash myself. Unlike some people who just sit in the tub and stare into space, pretending that he's at the beach."

"What the _hell?_" Sora yelled, scandalized. He quickly sat up, narrowing his eyes at his best friend. "Do you _spy_ on me? In the _bathroom_?"

He shook his head, setting the brush down on his dresser. Riku shot a smirk at him. "Nah. I say it like Kairi says it."

"..."

"Oh, look," Another smirk. Riku held up his fingers and snapped an imaginary picture. "Gee. I never thought you could blush that hard. Wait while I think of an appropriate name, okay?"

Mortified by the thought of the redwine-locked girl spying on him while he was in the bathroom, Sora buried his head once more in the pillow, and threw the white sheet over his head for good measure. "Stop it, Riku. I can't get the mental image out of my head."

"I can't believe you actually _fell_ for it," he heard Riku laughing, and the click of the bedroom door being shut.

"_Riku!_" Sora cried out indignantly, throwing off all the covers in one smooth motion and glaring up at the aquamarine-eyed teen. "Jerk!"

He managed to snicker once more before walking up to his bed and collapsing on it, peering over the edge to grin ferally. "Gets you every single time."

"If you don't wake up alive tomorrow, don't blame me."

"Ah, good thing I still don't have a girl, eh?" Riku said airily, brushing off Sora's death threat with the concern one would not normally associate with being given a threat of decapitation. He slid off the bed slightly to reach for one of his notebooks. "That way, I can't blush so easily, unlike you, which you do everytime I say Kairi."

Sora pillowed his arms on the side of Riku's bed and watched the silver-haired boy rummage for some pens in his side drawer. He tilted his head sideways and let it rest on his arms, exhaling sadly. "Mmmh..."

Riku paused in the motion of flipping his notebook open, and he raised an eyebrow. "No, really. What's up with you?"

"Ah..." the brunet started tracing circles absentmindedly into the chartreuse bedsheet. "The ceiling."

"Argh," Riku growled, rapping the top of his head sharply with a pen, ignoring the glare Sora shot him. "Seriously."

Sora sighed, and sat up straight, pooling the blankets around him and wrapping them around his shoulders. He then brought up his knees to his chest and circled his arms around them, leaning back into the side of Riku's bed. Staring up into the ceiling, he pouted slightly before speaking. "Well...What now?"

"What now what?"

"What do I do with Kairi?"

He could almost see Riku tilting his head thoughtfully. "What do you mean--"

Sora shifted his arms, and stared straight ahead. "I mean, all these years I've spent trying to prove that I really, really like her. Love her. Heck, we even fought over her and almost destroyed reality as we knew it. But now...well..." At this point his voice took on some sort of panicky quality, "Now that we're a official couple now...in the social and love sense...I don't know what to do next."

"Hm," he heard his best friend's pen tapping his notebook rhythmically.

A realization suddenly occured to Sora: maybe Riku had not quite gotten over yet that facet of their lives. Maybe he had hurt Riku's feelings by rubbing it into his face that Kairi was his, not the silver-haired teen's. He probably did, judging from the irate tapping that was now the only sound in Riku's room. Clapping horrified hands to his mouth, he whirled around and stared at Riku with wide sky-blue eyes. "I'm --"

Riku stared back at him, amusement shining in his own aquamarine eyes. "Eh?"

Clearly Sora was wrong.

"Ah, you've never gone a date, haven't you?" That annoying, self-satisfied voice was back; one could almost hear the smugness in it. Riku reached over and ruffled his cinnamon-colored hair, smirking. "Poor Sora. You're a Keyblade Master, but real clueless in the love department."

He blushed furiously. "Hey!" he said defensively, his lower lip jutting out. "As if I did have time for the loving business! It was love that took out my heart in the first place!"

A very uncomfortable silence.

Riku studied him with that almost-glowing eyes of his, and he looked away.

Sora hadn't talked about that year of his life. Not yet; not to Kairi, not to Riku, not to anyone. Roxas and Naminé had related to them (in gruesome details) what the brunet had been doing in the Castle that Never Was; it was not a pretty story, to say the very least. He didn't relish the idea of reliving the experience.

And now that Antiform had made himself known once more, his blood ran cold as the line "History repeats itself" ran through his head.

He hadn't told Riku; hadn't told anyone. But sooner or later they'll find out, no matter what Rinoa had done to bond him and the silver-haired teen. Someone will see the empty blood-packs and ask questions. And he was prepared to keep them silent, at any cost, at the risk of breaking the peace after the year before.

"Well..." Riku's voice broke him out of his trip down his hypothetical blood-splattered memory lane. The silver-haired teen stared at him warily. "I can tell you that Kairi loves pasta."

"So?"

Rolling his eyes, Riku sighed exasperatedly. "You're hopeless. Take her out on a date."

"That's where the trouble _is_, Ri_ku_," he groaned, throwing his hands in the air frustratedly, letting the blanket fall. "I _don't_ know what to do on a date! I mean, sure, I've spent almost half of my life with Kairi, I know her like the back of my palm, (at this Riku made an amused noise, and Sora had taken the nearest pillow and chucked it at the silver-haired Wielder), but on a _date_? What do I do? Hold her hand? Put an arm around her shoulder? How many bottles of mouthwash do I have to go through? What should I wear? Do I -- _mmf_!"

Riku had taken the chucked pillow and slammed it into Sora's face. "Don't sweat it. It's been months since you got together. Have you ever heard her complain about the things you do for her?"

"No..." he paused. "But I've never taken her out. On an official date."

"Do you have to?"

Sora blinked, and bit his lip. "Of course I do."

His best friend scribbled something down in his notebook. "No you don't, at least, not right now. You have your entire life to do that," he said absently.

Sora frowned deeply, an expression that felt foreign on his face. _My entire life could consist of today and tomorrow. Knowing King Mickey, I wouldn't even last a year. What if I never get the chance to do so again?_

Riku was looking at him with that expression again. One that made him feel like he had to tell the silver-haired Keyblade Master everything. He hastily changed the subject before realizing he would be treading on even shakier ground.

"Anyway...where are you planning to go to college?"

Aquamarine eyes fell, and he scribbled a random math equation. "I don't know. I haven't decided on even leaving yet."

Sora clutched the blankets. "You're not? You don't want to leave? But Riku..."

"Way to make me feel appreciated, Sora," he said dryly.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Sora answered defensively. "It's just that...it's been your dream, ever since we were kids, to go and explore other worlds..."

"That was before I became a Keyblade Master," he said gently, a wan smile tugging at his lips.

"So?" Sora cried out, expression pained. "Don't let that stop you!"

"It's a twenty four-seven job, three-sixty-five days a year for an entire lifetime. I can't leave."

It took only a split second for the brunet to read between the lines. His face immediately fell, and he sighed, turning away from the side of the bed and leaning on it to stare up at the ceiling. "I can take care of Antiform myself, you know."

A noise of surprise. "Sure you can," Riku scoffed.

"I mean it," he said quietly, swallowing painfully. "Antiform hasn't shown himself for a long time now. You can't sacrifice your happiness for mine. There's always Roxas and Zexion."

"They both have their own lives to lead."

"And so do you."

A very pregnant pause.

"You're forgetting that you also have a life of your own to live, Sora."

The brunet let out a harsh laugh. "As if, Riku. As long as I have the Keyblade, who knows what could happen to me next? For all I know I could wake up dead tomorrow. Well, I hope not tomorrow, b'cause I still need to see you graduate, right?"

He knew by now that he was babbling, but the grain of truth in his words stunned even himself.

Riku eyed him apprehensively. "Sora..."

The brunet stood up, letting the blanket pool around his feet. "...I'm going to get my books and study."

There was something in his voice that indicated something else entirely, and frankly, Sora was too tired of living in general to comprehend what was happening to him.

-- x -- x --

The moon spilled into the kitchen, leaving squares of white on the tiled floor. Riku frowned, picking his way carefully around the furniture.

"Wielder?"

He blinked, and whirled around, hand held out ready to summon the Way to the Dawn. He relaxed only a fraction when he saw familiar ebony hair from behind the couch.

Rinoa looked positively angelic in the moonlight, he thought. She was wearing a long white robe trimmed with ribbon, and she was barefoot as she tapped her toes in some forgotten rhythm against the floor. She was sitting on the sofa, facing the double french doors, with a clear view of the moon outside. She had a cup of milk in her hands, and she looked back at Riku, smiling.

It was a smile that felt true, for once.

"What're you doing so late at night?" he asked, pouring himself a glass of water.

"Morning, " she corrected, shifting position so that she sat cross-legged on the cushions. "I could ask you the same thing."

Riku pursed his lips. He had awoken at one in the morning because of that recurring dream once more. The one where Sora had broken wings and everything else. It wasn't a good omen, and he certainly wasn't sharing it with anyone soon. But knowing Rinoa, she'll keep asking.

"I had a nightmare," he said finally, downing the water in one swallow.

"Mhmm," she murmured, drinking from her own glass, the last reaction he'd expected to see from her. "It's not unheard of. For someone who had went through so much...I wouldn't be surprised if you had one every night."

Silence, during which the rustle of silk against couch could be heard.

"...that's all?" Riku asked, before he could stop himself.

"Yes," Rinoa answered in a bemused tone, as if she already expected _his_ reaction.

Riku frowned. The sorceress set down her glass on the floor with a _clink_ and looked over her shoulder to face him, brown eyes practically glowing in the moonlight. "I'm sorry," he apologized, stroking the handle of the water pitcher absentmindedly. "Foot in mouth moment."

"I'm used to it," she said sadly. True sadness. "Everyone expects me to be a manipulative bitch." She laughed hollowly at the expression on Riku's face. "Everyone suspects every move I make has an ulterior motive."

"Well..."he paused, knowing that he'd be considered tactless, but he continued on. "What should we expect? You're one of the most powerful beings who use the darkness."

"I never chose to be a sorceress."

The sadness was evident there, dripping from the words and pooling in the cool shadows.

"I...had a nightmare too," she confessed, turning back around and gazing into the moonlight.

He took that as a signal that the conversation was over. Rinoa hadn't pried into his dreams, why should he?

"Well..." he ran a hand through his hand, voice hushed in the quiet that was the wee hours of the morning. "Goodnight, Rinoa."

She waved a hand. "Just remember that things don't always have to be what they seem..."

He hesitated, bewildered. Do all sorceresses need an interpreter for them to be understood?

"Good night and sleep well, Riku."

Shrugging, and thinking Rinoa might just be out of it, he proceeded onwards into his and Sora's temporarily shared quarters, unconsciously smiling at the fact that this was the first time Rinoa had referred to him by name.

-- x -- x --

"I don't like this place."

Teal eyes flickered over to him curiously. "Sorry, Rox, but you did agree to go."

The golden-haired Keyblade Master frowned. "I did, but that doesn't change anything."

It was the Graduation Ball of Destiny Academy, Class 2085, and Roxas had no idea that it was supposed to be held _here_. It was only after half an hour of combined cajoling from Riku and Naminé that he did agree on coming, only on one condition: If King Mickey tried anything stupid, he had a license to kill.

People were everywhere, and every single one had on a mask, half-mask, or something to cover their faces. It had been said on the gold-tasseled invitation that everybody should come in costume, for the Ball was also a Masquerade.

Gold also decorated the entire Audience Hall, from the banners hanging from the arches to the carpet under their feet. The white materia had also been replaced with golden ones, lending the massive room a warm sheen.

"Where _are_ the others?" he asked impatiently, tugging down at the hood of his coat in an attempt to keep his face hidden, according to the rules. An uneasy feeling had started to tug at his chest; he held no particular favor for Disney Castle, in any case. But ever since King Mickey had offered his protection to Destiny Islands, it had been a token of appreciation that the Graduation Ball be held here as every academic year ended.

But he couldn't help but feel that this was all part of some other grand plan.

"It's a _masquerade_, Roxas," Axel said (and Roxas could almost _hear_ the smirk his best friend was directing towards the back of his neck). "Don't worry, I'm sure Naminé would show up sooner or later."

"Hey! I didn't --"

"_Honestly,_ Roxas," a chipper voice asked, poking him in the chest. "You could've been more imaginative..."

He raised his hood in to face one Yuffie Kisaragi, dressed as a SeeD, with a Bevellian supportive helmet on her head and covering her eyes.

"Tell that to Leon," he snickered, taking note that the brooding brunet had dressed as a SeeD also, and he had not bothered to cover his face. The resemblance he bore to the Lion from one thousand years ago (as noted in Somebody history) was uncanny. "Yuffie."

"What gave it away?" she whined briefly, before grinning and sweeping him up into a hug. "Don't worry, Rox, you look adorable with whatever you wear."

Axel snickered.

"Oh no, pyro," the ninja let Roxas go, allowing him to catch his breath. "You just wait 'til Larxene shows up." She smirked, a habit Roxas supposed she picked up from Leon.

Number Eight looked disarmed. "What the heck do you -- "

He was cut short by a squeal. "Sora!"

Roxas raised his gaze to see Sora being led by hand by no other than Kairi and Naminé, Larxene following close behind, paper bag in her gloved hands. The brunet looked remotely harrassed but he was up to it, nevertheless. When one was outnumbered, it was better not to complain.

Kairi and Naminé were giggling madly. Roxas stared at them, thoroughly confused. Why, they were wearing their same clothes! They hadn't even bothered to dress up at all!

"This is supposed to be a masquerade," Leon suddenly appeared at his shoulder. Roxas was certain he'd had a coronary if not for the fact that he didn't have a heart.

Kairi laughed. "We know."

"Of course we do," Naminé added, and they giggled again.

Larxene rolled her eyes and walked over to Axel, putting a hand on a hip. "Oh, they're dressed up all right," she said sarcastically, grinning.

Roxas eyed them closely, Naminé in particular. Something seemed off about the girl. For one thing, she didn't draw her hair over her shoulder like she usually did every five minutes. Her shoulders seemed broader. And...

It hit him with the force of a speeding Gummi Ship.

They were dressed up.

As each other.

-- x -- x --

Naminé's face brightened as Roxas looked like he had realized what they had done. It meant that their costume swap was highly effective. It should. It took them upwards of two hours to do it, with Larxene's help. The hair, the eyes, the Illusion of skin tone...

They had come up with the idea only the day before. The invitation (handed to them by Riku; the graduation ball was for the seniors and their guests only) only specified that they come as somebody they're not. Well, technically, Kairi and she _were_ each other, but she didn't want to bother with _that_. They were practically twins.

Larxene was apprehensive at first, but she then only smiled and said, "This'll be interesting."

"I mean, _wow_, you do look exactly like her, I mean..." Roxas paused, and averted his eyes, stormy-blue disappearing into his shadowed face. Naminé cringed. There was something in his voice that screamed he was struggling to say something but he was holding it back.

She took a step towards him, silver bangle jangling on her wrist. "Um, Roxas--"

"I'm going to get some fresh air," he said, making her cringe once again at how automatic it sounded. He raised his eyes to hers once again before vanishing into the crowd (actually before the crowd made way for him as he stalked to some hidden corner).

She was reminded of a hurt puppy.

A _very_ hurt puppy.

She looked around at a loss of what to do; Sora was still staring after his blonde Nobody in shock, while Kairi frowned in consternation. "I think...I think this is a bad idea."

Yuffie shook her head, taking a bemused glance at the path the crowd had made, "It's a masquerade. You're supposed to come as someone who you're not," she said, reiterating what was stated on the invitation. "If there's anybody who had a bad idea, it would be Roxas."

Naminé swiveled her head in sync with her Other, and they locked eye contact. _Someone you're not?_ she mused silently, staring at her own reflection.

Shaking her head heavily, she followed Roxas' footsteps out into one of the Courtyards.

-- x -- x --

Kairi watched with bated breath as her Nobody vanished into the crowd. She and Naminé didn't expect that dressing up as each other would have such consequences. Frowning, she turned back to Sora and raised an eyebrow.

He was wearing something she had seen on a particular spiky-haired blonde before; a black ribbed trenchcoat that reached to his booted feet, a black muscle shirt, and a black left shoulder-guard, from which a single black sleeve was hanging. It looked like it could be easily torn away...black belts with silver buckles were crossed in front of his chest, and the silver crown charm on the shoulder-guard caught the materia-light easily. (A\N: figuring out this blonde shouldn't be too hard...)

If it wasn't for the fact that Sora looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a massive steamroller, he'd be positively gorgeous.

"Seriously, Sora," she started, tossing a strand of blonde hair over her shoulder. She paused, realizing that something might be wrong, just as something was wrong with Roxas. "Uhm...you don't like it?"

She was surprised. Sora knew beforehand what she and her Nobody had been planning; he should've at least said something to stop her if he didn't like it.

"I...It's not that I don't like it," he choked on his own words, before sighing resignedly and averting his eyes. "It just reminds me of Castle Oblivion, that's all."

It was obvious from the twist of the corner of his lips that they were treading on rocky ground. Castle Oblivion, from her Other's recounts, was another year lost from Sora's already short life. Chains of memories being broken, betrayals all around...

"I'm going to go change, then."

Sora opened his mouth to object, and apparently decided against it, nodding briefly. "Sure. I'm going to get some drinks. What do you want?"

"Anything you get."

He gave her a brief mock-salute before heading off, coat brushing the polished floor. She noticed that the arm with the sleeve was also gloved. Hm. She shrugged; maybe it was part of the costume after all.

Kairi looked around, wondering how Naminé exactly stood being in such light material all day long. Didn't she even feel cold in this? Shaking her head, she searched for Larxene. The Savage Nymph had advised them (in a stroke of benevolence that she claimed was once in a blue moon) to bring another costume. Knowing Roxas (and Sora in the process) it would be a good idea to do so.

She spotted the blonde Healing Arts professor just past a group of Knights. She was stroking the back of Axel's wild mane absentmindedly as they talked with their fellow professor and Nobody, Marluxia.

She was just about to take a step when something--no, someone--suddenly darted from the crowd and took her by the shoulders, dragging her out into the nearest alcove.

"What--_Riku?_"

The silver-haired Wielder put a pale finger to her lips. "Naminé, I need to talk to you. It's about Sora and the King."

The blood drained out of Kairi's face. Riku hadn't realized that she wasn't the flaxen-haired memory forger! "Riku--" she tried to get a word in edgewise, but the urgent look in his face and his frantic breaths were more than enough to drown out her protests.

He spoke very quickly. "It's King Mickey. You have to know that he's planning on adopting Sora, but it's all a big ploy to control him. He sent Kairi and us a note. You know the fact that in the first note, there was a message that only Sora was meant to see? Well, in this one, he put another one in too--for _me._ For me, Naminé! He was telling me that I should meet with him right after Sora accepts. I mean, there has to be something up his sleeve, right?"

She blanched. "Riku--"

"I..." he paused, not lifting his hands from her shoulders, looking around warily. "I can't tell Kairi about it. Mickey told me not to. But I have the biggest feeling that something bad is going to happen. Promise me that you'll help Sora, okay?"

_I can't tell Kairi about it_. Somehow she felt more exhilarated than horrified. Now at least, she knew. But what will the silver-haired Wielder do when he revealed something to the person he was explicitly told not to be told?

Riku looked up, and aquamarine eyes flashed. "This is going to look suspicious. Don't tell anyone, please...This is between you and me."

_"Riku--_"

"Oh, sorry, Roxas _will_ kill me if he sees me having you cornered," he said hastily, managing a scattered laugh. "Well then...see you around, Nam."

Before she could call out his name once more, Riku had already vanished into the crowd.

-- x -- x --

"Roxas!"

The blond black-coated teen kept on walking. Naminé growled in her throat and walked faster, finally catching up with him. She gripped a black sleeve and didn't let go.

"Naminé, I'm fine."

"You're not," she said matter-of-factly, knowing full well that if she didn't say anything now, Roxas would go into one of his infamous sulking sessions that would take days for him to come out of.

"I said," he ripped his sleeve from her grasp, "I'm fine."

She ground her teeth in exasperation. "Look, if you don't like me dressing like Kairi, just say so!"

"It's not that."

Roxas sat down heavily on the nearest marble bench, head bowed. "You're not dressing like Kairi. You're dressing like you _are_ Kairi. That is entirely a different matter, Naminé."

"So?"

Stormy blue eyes flashed upwards, and she could almost hear him scowl. "Never mind. It's a masquerade. It's you right to dress as who you want to."

She crossed her arms and walked up to him, tossing auburn hair over one tan shoulder. "I'm not dressing like this if you have a problem with it."

"I told you, I don't."

"Roxas."

"I don't dictate your freedom."

"You could just show that you care."

"I care, Naminé, that's why I let you dress like--"

She cut him off, a triumphant smirk on her face. "So you actually _let_ me dress like this? So I'm actually under your--"

"_Yes, Naminé, yes!_" Number Thirteen suddenly roared, standing up and coming up so close to her that she could feel his breath across the bridge of her nose. She looked up and fought the urge to flinch. "Yes! I admit it! I do have a problem with you dressing as Kairi, damn it!"

She swallowed painfully, biting her lip as she shied away from the inevitable Roxas explosion. "..."

"I do, Nam," he said, tone becoming softer, almost whispering, as he put gloved hands on her bare shoulders. "It's like you're breaking everything we've worked to achieve. Our own identities. Somehow, I just can't stand the sight of you so like Kairi. Like the time before you and Sora came back...Whenever I saw her, I saw you..."

His voice trailed off.

"Then why don't you try to do the same now?" she asked quietly, looking up and thumbing his jaw.

"I can't," he said brokenly, stepping away, swiping at his shadowed eyes. "Because everytime I do, I want to use the Dark Keyblade to bring you back..."

She froze. She had known the Dark Keyblade long enough to know what he meant.

Naminé ran and quickly threw her hands around Roxas' waist, pressing her face into his back, inhaling his scent of storm and underneath, metallic blood. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I didn't think it would hurt you so much."

"Don't be sorry," there was a hint of a wan chuckle there, "You're not the one who's such a sappy Nobody."

"I love you."

He stiffened slightly, before taking her hands and clasping them in his, leaning into her touch. "I love you too."

She nuzzled experimentally for a few more minutes before reluctantly breaking the embrace. Roxas turned around and ruffled her hair, grinning. He was back to his old self once more, brooding, deep, and hard to understand. That was Number Thirteen for you.

"I guess I'll see you in a few, then," she smiled back, removing Kairi's pearl necklace. Without further ado, she turned on her heels and skipped away, feeling happier than she had all week. Well, remembering to feel happy. It had the same effect, anyway.

-- x -- x --

The punch was a brilliant red.

_Like blood._

Oh, crap.

Sora shook his head violently, trying to get Antiform to go away and leave him alone and let him enjoy the evening.

_Like you were actually_ enjoying_ the evening, buddyboy._

Well...he was right...slightly. It was a pain to find a costume that would hide his...condition on the case that he should turn Antiform. That afternoon he was horrified to see ebony ribbons were starting their slow but sure trail down his left arm, and his nails were slowly lengthening. Thankfully his face was still safe, but his cinnamon spikes were turning black. Again.

He had to find inspiration and he had to find it _fast_.

He frantically searched the Destiny Archives for a historical figure that sported an outfit suitable for him. He had no luck, until he had come across Leon and Yuffie, who were talking about Aerith and the return of her...reasonable half...

Sora remembered seeing Cloud at Roxas and Naminé's Knighting, and he had practically screamed in relief. He could just tell people he had seen it being used in Radiant Garden, without naming names...

_Bloood_, Antiform sang in a horribly _on-key_ voice, making up a song about blood and the wonders of the heart in general. Which could've been funny, if it wasn't for the fact that it was making Sora's craving for blood intensify. In the middle of a Hall full of people. Healthy, happy, people. With hearts.

Add to that the fact that King Mickey was here somewhere, and there you have an almost-complete recipe for disaster.

Sora looked around, trying and failing to catch sight of either Roxas or Riku. This was not good. He _could_ just discreetly tear a blood-pack open and pour it into one of the wineglasses, pretending that it was red wine...

"Hm." A loud voice drawled. "What are you supposed to be? A vampire?"

Sora spun around to see one Seifer Almasy, complete with lackeys. He bit his lip and tried not to lash out. "Maybe," he said coolly, careful not to let the blonde know that he was very, very, _very_ close to the truth.

_Stupid kid, he's dead, stupid kid, he's dead,_ Antiform started chanting gleefully.

His left hand trembled, and before he could stop himself, he hissed at Antiform. "Shut up, Darkie."

"So it _is_ true!" Seifer held a hand to his chest in mock-surprise. "The Legendary Keyblade Master is a _psycho_!" He said as loud as he could, almost yelling it out. People's heads swung in his direction, some puzzled, others jeering, some sympathetic.

Rai laughed.

Sora swallowed, trying not to lose control.

It was hard going, especially when Seifer was doing ridiculous imitations of him during the last Masters SHM field exam, where he was so out of it Roxas managed to beat him with only one Keyblade. (He was too busy with keeping Antiform from occupying his mind completely.)

"I mean...he isn't called Sora for nothing," Seifer said in a stage whisper. "All his head has is a lot of sky and hot air. Actually," he dropped his voice even further, "I don't think he's cut for the job. He's so imma--"

That was it.

Never say he was immature. _Never_.

There was probably something in his look that made the crowd fall silent, including Seifer himself. Slate blue eyes stared back at him with a mixture of surprise and fright.

He felt the familiar coldness of black snaking across the bridge of his nose, and he narrowed his eyes. Antiform nodded enthusiastically, the chants of _kill him, kill him_ echoing through his head.

"Never. Say. That," he snarled, tearing off his sleeve and ignoring the gasp that rippled across the room. "Again."

Seifer nodded frantically, terrified, but it was too late.

"_Sora! NO!_"

A portal opened right behind him, and he was unceremoniously shoved inside by Riku, aquamarine eyes wide and horrified.

_They'll be on a manhunt when you come baack..._

Sora decided that right now, he didn't care, seeing that his hands were full from trying to break free from Riku's tight grip and going to **_kill_** Seifer Almasy, because frankly, as he had thought all the last week, that he just didn't want to think about the downhill slope his life was at the top of.

-- x -- x --

That was long. My wrists hurt. And finally, I've got an outline for this.

Questions? Comments? Leave me a review! Flames are accepted.

XD


	5. responsibility

**A/N: **Hoo boy. Life is crazy.

This chapter is a bit short, because a) This is finals week, b) there's a convention on Sunday and I still have to embroider Yuna's skirt and redo her staff, c) I feel like a blob of unrequited love, and d) the plot's moving a bit too fast...

On another note, is anyone else here going to Ozinecon? In the Philippines, I mean. XD

Kingdom Hearts is not mine. Maybe someday. Just not today.

**iv: responsibility**

"If you would please stop pacing and muttering bloody murder under your breath, I'd greatly appreciate it," Riku started, glowering with a glower to end all glowers. "Stop it. Stop pacing."

Leon glared. And glared some more for good measure. The silver-haired teen flinched, averting his eyes and turning his attention to the flaxen-haired girl sitting next to him on the couch. Naminé was twisting the nearest throw pillow into an unrecognizable heap, probably out of worry.

"I knew it," he breathed heavily, brushing mahogany hair out of his eyes. "Sooner or later."

The moment that blond had yelled, he knew at once something was horribly wrong. A portal of darkness had opened right in front of the punch table, and the next thing he knew, people were screaming. There was almost a stampede; the night would have ended in quite a tragedy if not for Rinoa. The ebony-haired teen (was she still a teen? In true time she was already twenty-seven...) had shouldered her way through the confused crowd right to the blond Sora had last been talking to and cast a massive Curaga on him.

That..._creature_ with an amber eye and darkness across its face had managed to maim Seifer seriously. He would have been disfigured for life if not for Rinoa. Leon hadn't even known that magic _that_ strong existed.

After casting the Curaga she had visibly weakened when she came face-to-face with Sora, and that was something that, not matter how Leon tried to deny it, frightened him. What could possibly weaken a sorceress just like that?

She had shouted something he barely heard oven the din of the people, and the Hall immediately fell silent. Riku then just threw an arm around Sora and dragged him through the portal, which led right _here_.

Kairi's home.

Foster home.

His gaze strayed to the long plush seat across Riku. On the right end, with ebony hair fanning across the white upholstery, was Rinoa herself, forehead beaded with sweat and muttering incoherently while she slept.

On the other end, with his legs curled up his chest, a hand loosely covering his knees, was Sora. Amber eye darted around with unnatural swiftness, as if checking for enemies. He looked quite torn; like he was fighting a smile and a frown at the same time. He had reached over and felt Rinoa's forehead with a sharp-tipped hand for quite a few times now, as if guilty. Ha. As _if_.

"She'll be okay," Kairi suddenly announced, coming out of the kitchen, towelette in hand and a basin-toting Yuffie in tow. "She just fainted from the stress, that's all. I think we have to thank Roxas for something."

The blond Wielder was the one who had supported the sorceress during their brief interlude in the Corridors. Halfway through Rinoa had blanched white and had fallen to her knees, and Roxas had to half-drag her through. Once they had arrived at Kairi's, he had closed the portal and done..._something_ that made Rinoa, at least, turn a healthier shade of normal.

Who was, speaking of...

"_Roxas!_" two simultaneous yells echoed throughout the Dalmasca household, and Leon was glad that Kairi's foster relatives were at the mainland, blissfully unaware that their home was now host to a sorceress, a rabid attacker, two Nobodies, and a whole lot of confused people.

Number Thirteen had just keeled over.

Leon slapped an exasperated hand over his face. _Kingdom Hearts, we have a problem._

Quicker than he could blink, Naminé had already leapt out from her seat and rushed to the blond Nobody's side, who had fainted just as he had come inside the living room.

However, before Naminé could insomuch as _touch _Roxas, a hand had shot out and hauled her up to her feet.

"_Don't touch him_," Sora hissed, dragging her by the arm and roughly depositing her on the couch where he was sitting moments ago. As he turned back he saw Kairi with a washtowel in hand and with the intention of feeling Roxas' forehead; with a single roar and a step of his feet he had grabbed the auburn-haired girl and set her, much as she did with Naminé but with the gentleness one would associate with porcelain, right beside a stunned Riku.

"I told you," he spoke in a voice laced with concern, whether it was real or not, Leon didn't want to know, "Don't."

"What the _hell_ is going on?"Leon suddenly raised his voice, nearing his breaking point. "For crying out loud, the kid's having trouble breathing! He's passed out on the floor and what do you do? Tell us to leave him be and let him die?"

"Nobodies can't die," Sora said matter-of-factly, ignoring the vehement noise Naminé was currently making. "And if either of you even just get close enough to Roxas, _you_ will be the one who dies."

"That doesn't explain anything," he replied coolly, watching out of the corner of his eye as Yuffie absentmindedly patted Rinoa's forehead with a towel.

"It takes a lot of power to open a portal," Riku cut in, clearly intending to break the tension.

"That doesn't stop Nobodies from doing it all over the place, does it?"

Aquamarine eyes narrowed. Leon ground his teeth inwardly. "Rinoa did it in Disney Castle. She was the one who opened the portal. You _don't_ open portals in Disney Castle; the Cornerstone sees that it doesn't happen."

Leon frowned even more. He had heard of the Cornerstone of Light, essentially a very large glass ball with enough power to dispel darkness within the walls of Disney Castle. Wait. How did Rinoa even manage to open a portal?

"She's a sorceress," Naminé observed quietly, her eyes only on Roxas. "Of course she can open a portal, but only if she overcomes the Cornerstone's power. Maybe it took so much out of her that Roxas needed to help her get through the Corridors."

"And so this explains why he," Leon pointed a finger at Number Thirteen, over whom Sora was currently crouched and muttering, "is out cold?"

Half sky-blue and amber raised up and regarded him with an icy gaze. "Roxas transferred darkness to your sorceress, Leon. He gave almost every drop of power just to be able to keep Rinoa breathing. You should be thankful."

Leon was halfway through opening his mouth and giving the half-Heartless a piece of his mind, concerning the part of 'your sorceress', but he changed his mind when Sora held out a hand and summoned his Keyblade. Oblivion.

"Pray tell me, who are you planning to maim now?" he asked, narrowing grey eyes.

"Leon," Kairi said warningly in a voice that indicated she was at the end of her rope.

He relented and sighed, rubbing his forehead with a gloved hand. He could feel a migraine coming on.

Sora had cradled his Nobody's head in one arm (and Leon couldn't help but notice how close those sharp fingernails were to Roxas' pale throat) and held the Oblivion on the other. He passed the Keyblade over the unconscious Wielder once and Leon had to bite his tongue -literally- in order to stop himself from cursing.

Ribbons of darkness slid out of nowhere and started going _into_ the unconscious teen, making him glow a ghostly shade of blue. It continued on, and Sora had let Roxas rest on the carpeted floor before steadying himself with a hand.

"What are you doing?" Naminé asked in a half-frightened, half-furious voice, which, not surprisingly, sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Leon looked over his shoulder at the memory witch; if there was such a thing as pale, it was Naminé right now.

Sora smiled wanly, as wan as a Heartless could get, probably. "He needs darkness."

"That's the most absurd thing I have ever heard," Leon finally spoke up, a growl deep in his throat as he advanced on Sora. By the way Roxas was breathing heavily, the golden-haired boy was having a hell of time.

Kairi had already stood up, face set in a scowl, but it was Yuffie's arms that encircled him from behind and held tight.

"Please, Squall."

Her voice sounded like a broken mirror, desperately trying to reflect light even though it had already been shattered into a thousand shards.

But Leon had had enough. This night proved more than not that Sora was dangerous and was not someone he wanted around his sister. He gently untangled himself from the ebony-haired girl's embrace and sent Yuffie an apologetic glance, before turning back to the brunet Wielder.

He was too stunned, however, to say anything, when Sora gasped and the Oblivion shook; the stain across his face and trailing down his bloodstained arm was slowly dissolving into the air, where it joined the other strands of black into Roxas. The brunet shivered once before he slumped sideways, the ebony Keyblade fading away together with the ribbons of darkness.

"Sora!" Kairi cried out, kneeling beside the brunet and helping him sit up. Apparently, he had not passed out; he was only breathing extremely hard and trembling.

Riku was mumbling something along the lines of 'you idiot' and 'stupid' as he got up and went into the kitchen.

"He's safe, now." Sora said weakly, waving off Kairi and miserably failing to do so. It irked Leon in how she, a Princess of Heart and the crown princess of Radiant Garden, could stand being so close with a creature of such darkness.

Naminé was already halfway through casting a Curaga on Number Thirteen, and she was entirely focused on the blond teen in front of her.

"Kairi," he said in a tight voice, making her freeze momentarily in the act of heaving Sora into an upright position (and she looked extremely tangled up with him as she did...). "I--"

"The stupidest thing," Riku was saying as he came back into the living room with a tetra pack of juice. Leon watched in confusion as he threw it in Sora's direction, and it bounced off the brunet's head with a quiet 'ow', making him stagger slightly, and making Kairi glare at the silver-haired teen.

"You didn't have to do that--" she started crossly, frowning.

Naminé looked up. "Riku, how'd you know--"

"Can somebody _please_ pass the paopu?" Sora reached over, but Kairi's hold on him proved it impossible.

"_Yes_," Leon tried to cut in, knuckles turning white in agitation, "The stupidest thing--"

Once more, he was cut off, but this time, by a voice that he had never heard take on that tone before. A frightened Yuffie sounded like the end of the world, yet here she was.

"Why?"

The living room fell silent.

Leon turned around, only to have his heart fall and his words choke in his throat.

Yuffie looked more like a frightened child rather than the twenty-year-old woman she really was, and the sight of her in such pain and fear seemed to be a vice that gripped his heart and tightened. Ebony eyes wide and the white washcloth held tightly in clenched hands, the ninja stood silhouetted in the moonlight, the ribbons of her forehead-guard flapping in the night breeze.

Riku made a choking noise.

Yuffie regarded them all with a frustrated gaze, before finally settling on the brunet sprawled on the floor in a tangle of limbs with his sister.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because wow, knowing that Sora is a Heartless Keyblade Master is oh-so-enlightening," Roxas suddenly spoke up, apparently having been just revived successfully by Naminé. Who had immediately clamped a firm hand over his mouth and shot him a glare that would promise pain later.

Sora paused, and curiously enough, glanced at Leon with clouded sky-blue eyes. He shifted positions so that he was only leaning on Kairi for support.

"I couldn't."

Leon eyed him suspiciouly, and the brunet hung his head.

"I can't weigh you down with the knowledge that your savior is actually a devil," he swallowed painfully. "Not when you're all happy that everything's all right in the world, that I'm here, the Keyblade Masters are here to save your day. A little white lie could make everything else hurt less."

"But it's still a lie, damn it!" Leon roared, rocking back on his heels.

"Stop it, Leon!" Kairi yelled, tears brimming in her beryl eyes. "He saved Roxas! Isn't that proof enough that he's not who you think he is?"

"If he hadn't gone berserk, we wouldn't _be_ in this situation in the first place, would we?" he asked smugly.

"It's not his fault!" Riku said defensively. "If King Mickey hadn't even done the stupid--"

"Oh, so it's King Mickey's fault this time! The King had an absolutely valid reason for doing what he did!"

"_Absolutely valid_?" the silver-haired teen asked increduously. "What in the Creator's name could be an absolutely _valid _ reason to risk the life of somebody who had saved reality twice, even thrice?"

"The safety of the reality he _saved_, Riku!"

"Stop acting like a child, Leon!" That was Kairi.

This time, he rounded on her, knowing at the back of his head that he'd probably said more tonight than the rest of his previous life. "Then stop acting like nothing's wrong. There's something wrong with this farce and you know it, Kairi. Sora is a danger to everyone around him, and I can't have you being near to someone who's bound to kill you someday!"

_"Don't say that!_" the auburn-haired teen suddenly stood up, every inch of her the Princess that she was and she was just radiating _anger_.

"You know I'm telling the truth!"

"Squall."

There was Sora Hikari, Keyblade Master, Knight of Disney Court, a seventeen-year-old boy with eyes the color of the sky and a feared determination that was known throughout all the worlds he had touched.

Leon flinched at the way Sora had said his true name, a name that he swore he'd never use since _the_ incident. He turned steel-grey eyes on the brunet and crossed his arms.

"What's Kairi's favorite food?"

"What the hell?" he burst out, uncrossing his arms.

Sora narrowed sky-blue irises. "I asked what Kairi's favorite food was."

Leon bit his lip. The kid was on to something. "Citrus."

"Pasta. Specifically chicken carbonara." The brunet teen shifted into a more comfortable position. "What's Kairi's favorite place?"

"Her room here."

"Somewhere on the play island that I'd not really like to disclose. What's her favorite subject?"

"World Literature," he ground out. Leon was getting seriously pissed off.

"Materia Handling II. What's her favorite game and on what console?"

By this time the grey-eyed knight was too much confused by where Sora was going with this. He rubbed his temple with a gloved hand. "I don't know."

"Katamari Damacy II on GameStation 3, with Lego Star Wars a close second. (At this Kairi made a choking noise and was now staring fixatedly at Sora.) What's her dearest hobby?"

"Collecting thalassa shells."

"No, her hobby is taking her collection of thalassa shells and finding some crazy way to put them together with White Materia to make the awesomest Keychain ever."

"_Sora!_" Kairi slapped a hand over her forehead, her blush growing.

The brunet took no notice, and Leon matched him stare for stare. "What's her favorite color?"

He took one look at his auburn-haired sister, and then at her flaxen-haired Nobody kneeling on the floor. Both were wearing some sort of Songstress dressphere, and they had asserted that Kairi was the one from Zanarkand and Naminé was the one from Bevelle (or something to that effect), but before they had changed to the identical costumes, he remembered that the memory witch was wearing Kairi's usual outfit. Which was...

"Pink." He answered with a triumphant smirk.

Sora looked up at him and paused for a second, before shaking his head. His eyes seemed to glow in the dimmed light of the living room, and Leon suddenly knew what the correct answer was.

"It's blue. Sky blue." The brunet teen said in an almost possessive voice, staring at him unblinkingly.

Kairi blushed furiously, and Riku raised an eyebrow at the two of them.

Sora reached over for his juice-pack and stabbed the straw through it. His voice lowered a few octaves. "Did you know that during her first year here in Destiny Islands, she was the shyest and most quiet girl among us?"

Leon hesitated. "I--"

"Did you know that she has a ratty old bear that almost has its nose rubbed raw and its arms falling off, and that she has never let anybody throw it away because it's the first doll that the Mayor had gotten her?"

"She's--"

"Did you know that she believes that everytime it rains, it means that the sky is crying?"

"What--"

"Did you know that she has this tiny almost heart-shaped scar near her hairline and nobody has seen it because her bangs cover it? Did you know that the book that she had checked out the most times from the library was a history book where each and every historical romance is documented? Did you know that her favorite flower is a rose that's so crimson that it's almost black? Did you know that she has a recurring nightmare that has been happening on Riku's birthday for the past ten years? _Did you know that everytime she looks up into a meteor shower she doesn't see stars but only the dying pieces of a shattered world?!_"

"I _don't_, Sora!" Leon was finally able to get it through, a scowl etched on his face. "I admit it, I don't!"

"Then don't act like you know her, " Sora breathed quietly, anger evident in that whispered tone. "Don't act like you were here with her all those years since she washed up on Destiny Island's shores. Don't speak for her, don't say that you know what she's thinking. Don't treat her like some doll you put on a pedestal and proclaim the princess of your home World. Just because you suddenly turn up and say that she's your sister doesn't make it so. You say that you're her brother but you _don't know anything about her._"

There was a silence that was only broken by the sucking sound made by his straw as he took a deep sip of whatever the hell he was drinking. Leon was processing Sora's words carefully, and with a heavy heart, he knew that Sora was right. But what could he do? He had lost his sister ten years ago. All he could think about was getting her back.

"I may not know her," he started, choosing his words, "but Kairi is still a Leonhart, and she is still my sister. Nothing can change that. I will protect her at any cost, at any price, even with my life and even with yours."

"And so will I," Sora replied.

At that moment, as he stared into the sky-blue depths of his eyes and as Sora stared into his, Leon knew they had reached a silent understanding.

Without so much as another word, Leon turned on his heels and went out of the house.

-- x -- x --

"That was a scene straight out of a soap opera," Roxas voiced out helpfully, sitting up from his position on the floor and batting away Naminé's hand.

The flaxen-haired girl sighed resignedly. "Way to make the situation less tense," she said sarcastically, slapping him lightly upside the head.

Riku took a deep breath and leant on the couch, on which Kairi was now seated with Sora leaning against her legs. The auburn-haired girl was staring straight ahead and absentmindedly stroking her brunet knight's ear, still probably shocked not at the exchange of words between him and Leon, but at all the things Sora knew about her.

Sometimes, even Riku was surprised at how sweet Sora can be. He frowned, knwing that underneath that exterior was a boy who carried the weight of the entire realm on his shoulders.

Yuffie made to stand up, clearly intending to follow Leon outside, but Riku shook his head.

"I'll try to talk to him," he offered.

The ninja gave a dry laugh. "He's as stubborn as a mule. It'd be like talking to a wall. But by all means, go ahead. Try."

Riku chuckled, nodding at her and following the grey-eyed knight outside. He chanced a look over his shoulder and saw beryl eyes trained on him.

"Please help," Kairi's voice shook, and she bowed her head, "My brother."

He was seized by the impulse to bow and say "Of course, Princess," but he decided against it, settling for a quick smile and two fingers touched to his brow in a mock salute.

The Dalmascan home was situated in the Crystal Circle Subdivision of the south end of the main Island. The Mayor had chosen this spot for his living quarters because it was the home closest to the docks and it was quite far away from the Island business district. He wanted his home to be as far away from work as possible.

The back end of their house was situated directly behind the docks, with only a ten-foot distance between the foundation and the drop to the sandy beach below. Riku remembered once that he, Sora, and Kairi had taken turns floating tiny boats on the ocean right after a huge storm, where the expanse of blue had covered the beach and lapped right at Kairi's back door.

It was here he found Leon, leaning on the veranda, arms on the railing of the back porch and his eyes to the full moon.

"Riku," the knight breathed without even looking back at him. Riku was impressed at how Leon had felt him apporach, until he realized that being a knight, of course the gunblade master would notice.

He walked forward and settled into a similar pose beside him.

Riku hesitated, before gathering his thoughts and starting to talk. "I'm sure Sora meant the best. I mean, in interrogating you like that."

"I'm sure he does," Leon replied quietly, a hint of a wan smile on his lips. "He's quite a protective knight, after all."

"He loves Kairi."

"I know," he sighed, and he turned around, leaning his elbows on the railing and looking up once more up into the sky. "But Sora...he's not the same kid that I've seen a year ago, in Radiant Garden. Heck, he's not even a kid anymore."

"You can say that again," Riku mused. He was right. Getting stabbed sure took a lot out of you.

"I mean, I can still see he's the boy with the perpetually cheery disposition. He still cares deeply for his friends. He's still protective. And judging from his Master's Sword Handling and Maneuvering class, I can tell he's still wicked good with his Keyblade. But there's something off about him and I can't put my finger on it."

Perpetually cheery, yes, that fit Sora down to a tee. Riku knew what Leon was having trouble with. "There are so many of us guarding Sora and his Antiform."

"_Anti_form. Tell me, have you ever talked to this other side of him?" Leon asked, eyeing him sideways.

Riku shivered involuntarily. It was on a night long ago so similar to this, with the moon brightly shining overhead. "Yes. It's like being with a Sora that you've pushed to the limits," he related, remembering Antiform's sarcasm and snarl-smiles.

"I assume he's after hearts."

"All Heartless are after hearts. Except maybe for those mushrooms and truffles."

Leon tapped the railing. "And you're perfectly okay with the fact that something so dangerous is inside Sora and could burst out any minute."

"Antiform _can't_ burst out any minute, Leon," Riku bit his lip. "Usually he gives warning to us."

"That doesn't explain why Sora turned half-Antiform."

"It's my fault," he said cuttingly. "I ignored the signs."

Leon raised an eyebrow, and he continued. "It was getting stronger by the time you arrived. Sora's thirst for blood always makes me feel dizzy, but I dismissed it that night because I thought it was an aftereffect of the training we had that afternoon. And then--"

"Thirst for blood? Like a vampire?"

"That's what Seifer said. Look where he is now."

"The kid deserves it."

Riku turned aquamarine eyes on the grey-eyed knight. "For a second there, you sounded like you're defending Sora. I don't get you. In fact, I don't get the three of you, either."

"I'm not that much of a bastard," Leon said heavily, sighing again. "I just want Kairi to be safe. I don't want to lose her, not after all these years of searching for that auburn-haired kid. I just didn't expect her to be so...stubborn. And really sweet."

"Is that fondness I hear? Is big, bad, talk-to-a-wall Leon actually caring for somebody?"

"Shut up," he answered good-naturedly, before letting out a whistle. "Wait. The talk to a wall part. Was that Yuffie? She's going to get it later..."

Riku stared. "You know, you'd make a great president of something if you weren't so angsty all the time. People would flock and worship your awesome sarcastic powers. And of course, your pretty, pretty hair."

"I'd like to take that as a compliment, thank you very much."

He glanced out of the corner of his eye; Leon was actually smiling. It might have been a small smile, but it was a smile nevertheless. It looked quite out of place on his normally severe facade.

"You should smile more often."

The grey-eyed gunblade master looked surprised at his comment, but he relaxed almost immediately, combing a gloved hand through his hair. "I can't. I've tried, but I can't. I've lost far too many people and precious memories."

"When your world broke apart..."

"Yeah. Cloud went missing. So did Rinoa. And Kairi. That's a list that would take an eternity to enumerate. I tried to find them, to bring them back, but only the Keyblade Master could do that. I had to wait," he bowed his head. "I'm not somebody who's used to waiting. I'm not used to standing on the sidelines. But I was forced to wait for some fourteen-year-old kid with an oversized key before I acted."

Riku closed his eyes, a familiar feeling sweeping through his chest.

Leon's voice sounded strained. "I'm not just a supporting character, Riku. I'm Squall, and my life isn't controlled by anything else. But here I am, world being rebuilt, family and friends scattered to the wind...and I've got nothing else to do but go along with it."

_Yes_, he thought. _We've got nothing else but to go along with it._

The two Knights gazed up into the stars in companionable silence, minds unknowingly pondering the same thing.

--x--x--

"I can't stay."

"Unless you want to get mobbed by a horde of angry islanders," Roxas supplied cheerfully as he popped another candy heart into his mouth.

Naminé rolled her eyes skywards, aiming a slap at the golden-haired Nobody's head. "What is up with you the past few days?"

"Oh, I don't know..." he leered at the cerulean-eyed memory witch. He pelted her with two of the candy hearts, and she shrieked, leaping onto the stool he was sitting on and tackling him to the kitchen floor. The both of them disappeared behind the counter, and the sounds of a serious scuffle filled the room.

"Okay," Sora edged his own barstool away from them with a dubious look. "As I said, I can't stay."

Kairi pinched herself; maybe this was all one massive nightmare and she was about to wake any moment now. Sadly, judging by the fact that nothing happened, this was all real.

There had already been no less that a half a dozen news stations knocking at her door, and all were clamoring for an interview and even a possible shoot of Sora. Apparently the news that a Keyblade Master had turned Heartless and maimed a civilian spread like wildfire; there were even some who said that the brunet had actually killed somebody.

Thankfully enough, there was Leon; one single glare and a swing of the gunblade was enough to send the media scampering away.

Speaking of her brother...

Kairi blinked. Her brother? Since when did she actually accept that Leon was her brother?

Oh yeah. Since last night.

He and Riku had come back inside at around four. Both were looking quite troubled but the smile Riku had offered told her that everything was all right. Miraculously, when Leon woke up this morning, he had greeted them with a radiant 'Good Morning' that had even Yuffie shocked.

Riku had just snorted derisively, and Leon had chucked the nearest washcloth he could get his hands on at the silver-haired Wielder.

Somehow, her brother, grey-eyed Knight and gunblade Master, seemed less of an enigma and more of a human this time around.

"...so you're planning to accept the offer?" Riku was saying, waiting for an answer as he sipped from a tall glass of milk.

"Planning?" Sora laughed. "I've already accepted it. I want to see how King Mickey deals with the whole universe knowing that he's just adopted the Keyblade Master who went berserk in his own castle."

Kairi frowned. "How can you laugh at a time like this, Sora? If you become crown prince, you'll have to live in Disney Castle. You're going to leave behind Destiny Islands!"

_You're going to leave **me**__behind._

Sky-blue eyes turned in her direction. "Kai," he started gently, taking her hand and squeezing it comfortingly. "It's not only that. If I go to Disney Castle there's a lesser chance that I would turn Antiform because of the Cornerstone of Light."

"That hasn't stopped you before, has it?"

Sora bit his lip at her angry retort. "Riku and Roxas were far away. I didn't really try to control Antiform, either. But I'll try harder this time around."

"That decides it, then," Riku peered over his glass. "I'm going with you, Sora."

Kairi paled. "What? Then I'll have to go too--"

"Or you could just go to Radiant Garden and actually accomplish something," Rinoa suddenly cut in, appearing in a whirl of feathers right behind Riku, who choked on the candy heart he had taken from the bowl in front of where Roxas was sitting a while ago.

The silver-haired Wielder let out a string of very colorful words before shooting Rinoa a glare. "Could you **please **warn a person when you suddenly appear out of nowhere like that?"

Rinoa just smiled and took the stool next to him. She was wearing her usual black top and shorts, but without the blue overcoat. Sienna eyes darted around, and she raised an eyebrow. "Lovebirds?"

"Which ones?" Riku asked, ignoring the pointed glare Kairi had shot at him. "The pair that's killing each other on the floor, the pair that's currently out for a walk, or the pair that Fate has suddenly decided to screw with?"

"Mine," she replied simply. "I'm taking they're the ones out for a walk."

Kairi had half-tuned out their conversation, thinking about what Rinoa had first said. She was a Princess of Heart, for crying out loud. And if Leon was right, she was also crown princess of Radiant Garden, and she had an obligation, at least, to appear before the citizens.

But she never wanted to be separated from Sora. She was afraid that her one thin thread connecting her and her Keyblade Master would snap if pushed a little bit too far. Like the distance from Disney Castle to Radiant Garden. She couldn't just get anybody's help and portal in right into Disney Castle.

She had to accept the fact that she wouldn't be seeing Sora everytime she wanted to.

But she had her duty, and Sora had his. She couldn't be the damsel in distress forever.

"I'm coming with the Sora!" Roxas said brightly, raising a hand as he slumped against the counter, slightly out of breath.

Naminé climbed over him, and cerulean blue eyes shot Kairi a knowing look. "That means that I'm coming with Kairi."

Her eyes widened. "Nam, neither you nor Roxas could portal to see each other any time you want to do so. Portalling inside Disney Castle? Need I remind you of what happened to Rinoa?"

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," the golden-haired teen said from the floor.

"You don't have a heart," Sora said bluntly, reaching over for a candy heart and looking down at them.

"Same difference. That's why there's such a thing as universal calls, dork."

There was a sound of candy being pelted against Nobody, and Roxas squeaked admirably. Naminé was laughing, and Riku was looking torn between helping Roxas or laughing at him.

Only Rinoa was regarding her with a scrutiny that said _I know what you're thinking_.

Beryl eyes closed, and Kairi took a deep breath, knowing that Sora had to leave now, or never. Disney Castle was waiting. Radiant Garden was waiting.

Reality was waiting for its defenders to grow up.

"Sora," she spoke his name quietly, as she placed both hands firmly on the countertop and called on a power that she never knew she had until now.

Between her open palms a small outline of a heart traced itself, and it shone gold for a second before the wards of light around her home fell with a quiet _whoosh_.

Somehow, the prospect of universal phone calls didn't seem so bad after all, she decided, watching the scene with a kind of detachedness that only came with the burden of a duty she had never known she had.

--x--x--

Short, I know. But I'll make it up in the next chapter. Yesss...I will.

Read and review, flamers have my go signal.


	6. departure

**A/N: **I'm not dead, 'k? Internet access has been some kind of an issue. The next chapters have already been written, but I still have to find a way to upload them regularly. Modem's dead, y'know.

Warning: Long chapter. And fluff. Should be enough fluff in there to tide y'all until the end.

Hmm...more like characterization here first. The action will come sooner than you think, but let's put the spotlight on the characters first, shall we?

Disclaimer: Like hell no I own it.

**Previously: **Sora and Leon go all out in an angst fest. Riku joins in. Yuffie joins in. Roxas leers at Naminé. Rinoa watches silently. We all scratch our heads and ask where this is going.

**v: departure**

"What...what do you think you're doing?"

Kairi looked up, blinked twice, and raised an eyebrow. "Taking off your wards. If you're going to portal out, I don't want you guys to end up like Rinoa."

Sora lunged forwards, placing both of his hands on hers and ignoring the sudden clamminess of them. He reached across the countertop and brought his face so close to hers that their noses brushed, and the auburn-haired Princess leant fractionally backwards. It was not surprising to hear her breathing quicken.

"If you wanted me to leave right away, you could've just said so," he began quietly, watching a blush cross the bridge of her nose, "But never, _ever_, _ever_ do that again."

They stared at each other in complete silence, Sora losing himself in Kairi's pools of amethyst. He could feel Rinoa and Riku's eyes on the two of them, probabaly wondering what was wrong.

Kairi blinked once more, then matched stare for stare, hunching her shoulders and pressing forwards. "I--"

"Why not?"

That was Roxas.

He, together with his Princess, hands linked and golden heart still glowing on the countertop, swiveled their heads together in sync to face the blond Wielder.

"Just asking! _Asking!_" Number Thirteen shook his head frantically, "I mean, go on, kiss each other, make out, uh, whatever you were trying to do! No! That sounded wrong! I mean, get a room first and then go and--"

Cerulean eyes widened as Naminé suddenly stood up and silenced him.

Riku let out a low whistle.

The blonde memory witch turned around calmly from a now-stunned Roxas and gave them a rather disturbing smile. "I'll just have a word with him, okay?"

She held out a hand and summoned a portal, before dragging the just thoroughly-kissed teen through the strands of darkness and disappearing.

Sora blinked. Tilted his head, and grinned at Kairi, who was now furiously blushing. "That kind of gave me ideas."

"I'd rather those ideas stayed as _ideas_, Sora."

That was Leon, arms folded and grey eyes regarding him with a cold scowl. Beside him, Yuffie gave a rather sheepish grin and flashed a peace sign.

"Leon!" Kairi said indignantly, sticking out her lower lip. "I'm seventeen years old, and I can kiss anybody I want!"

The brunet raised an eyebrow, and the auburn-haired teen suddenly blushed crimson as she seemed to realize what her words had implied. She turned back to Sora with wide eyes. "Um, I mean--"

"You want to get kissed?" Sora teased her, smiling at how red her cheeks were getting.

Kairi bowed her head, letting her hair flounce forward. "Well, I, uh..."

"Anyway, anyway," Rinoa suddenly cut in, taking the candy heart Riku had tossed in her general direction. "Why stop her from taking down your wards?"

Sora froze. He had hoped that in the kissing-change-of-subject, they would forget why he had reprimanded Kairi in the first place. Sighing, he released her hands and waved a palm over the golden traced heart on the countertop, and he winced slightly when he heard the princess gasp.

Two crimson lines slashed through the shape and met in the middle, forming an 'x', followed by two arrowheads each. The heart lengthened and flashed red, turning into the trademark insignia of--

"Heartless," Kairi breathed, looking up at him with fear and anger in her beryl eyes.

Why did Rinoa have to ask?

What did she have in mind?

He pursed his lips and settled back onto his barstool, reaching over into the fridge and taking out another blood pack. He poked a straw through it and took the first sip before speaking. "The wards aren't only of light. That's why I've never let anyone else touch them."

Riku made a derisive noise, standing up and rounding on him. "Where the hell did you get the idea?"

Sora shrugged, careful to appear only nonchalant as he did so, not betraying the storm of emotions he had raging inside. He had gotten the idea from Antiform, from the year before, during one particularly boring day. He had taken it upon himself to explore the World That Never Was, and somewhere along his path Antiform had commented how stronger everything would be if only light would just go and _agree_ with darkness.

A very unlikely event, but as he had said, it gave Sora ideas.

Kairi drew back, a hurt look on her face.

"Why didn't you tell us?" his silver-haired best friend demanded, staring at the Heartless symbol on the countertop.

He looked away. "I--"

"Did you really have to use darkness?" Leon cut in, walking across the room in fast strides, arms still crossed. He stood beside his sister, who was now eyeing him with an unreadable gaze. "Light would have been enough."

Sora wanted to place his face in his hands. Awkward questions. Did people from Radiant Garden do nothing but ask awkward questions? "It's not that. My -- I mean, the Heartless would persevere even more if they spot a pure ward of light," he swallowed, watching Leon's gaze turn steelier grey by the minute. He had almost said 'my Heartless'. Okay. Take deep breaths. "For example, because of the Cornerstone, Disney Castle is one of the Worlds that Heartless put most of their energy into--"

"And you know this how?" Leon asked in a rather strained voice.

Rinoa tried and miserably failed to hide a smile.

Sora blinked. He stood up, drained his blood-pack, and chucked it into the nearest wastebasket.

"Is that _blood_?"

_I need help,_ Sora thought desperately, his right hand itching to summon his Keyblade as Leon grew angrier and angrier by the minute, judging by the way he had started taking deep, calming breaths.

"Sora--"

"Leon--"

"_No._" Riku and Yuffie said simultaneously.

"Let them be," Rinoa said calmly. "Settle everything once and for all. If things get out of hand, well..."

"No!" the silver-haired Wielder seethed, pounding both hands on the countertop and glaring at him angrily. "Don't drag him into this, Sora!"

"_Him?_" a bewildered and furious Leon asked, whipping his head around to stare at Riku.

"Squall, _calm down_," Yuffie interjected in a long-suffering manner, throwing out an arm and shaking her head angrily.

Sora shook his head. "I can control him."

Kairi took in a shuddering breath, presumably as she realized what Sora was going to do. She backed away right into Riku, and clutched convulsively at his vest. She tried to smile, but ended up with a grimace instead. "It's okay. He just drank. Leon needs to know," she said shakily, stealing a glance at her brunet brother.

Leon looked like a raging bull. "Know_ what_?" he said in a venom-laden voice.

"As Yuffie said, calm down," Rinoa piped up, walking over and collapsing into the nearest plush chair. "It's not as bad as you think. Hey Riku, toss me some candy, will you?"

Aquamarine eyes flashed, and the Wielder in question smiled reluctantly. "You can get it yourself, you know."

Kairi's brow smoothed, and she also smiled. "You're a wonder, Rinoa."

"I know," the ebony-haired teen said smugly, waving a hand dismissively as she clutched a pillow and pointed a slim finger at the bowl of candy hearts. "Yuff, sit down. You might get a heart attack."

"From what?" the ninja asked in a half-bewildered, half-frightened voice, tearing her gaze from one furious Squall Leonhart.

Sora offered Rinoa a grateful smile, watching as the multicolored candy floated out of the bowl and over to her in an orderly line. He closed his eyes, waving a palm over the Heartless symbol and making it disappear.

_Darkie, this needs your sarcastic touch, _he chuckled mentally, as he called on his dark side.

-- x --- x --

Naminé slapped a hand over her forehead, as a very crimson Roxas stared up at her with his infamous puppy-dog eyes. Which were really huge, watery, and _for crying out loud_ endearing as hell.

Oh no. Anything _but_ the puppy-dog eyes.

The blond clasped his hands and settled back down on his own bed, staring back at her with stars in his puppy-dog eyes and a grin curving up his pink lips.

She chucked a pillow at him, which thankfully hit him squarely in the face.

"It was the only thing I could think of that could shut you up!" she said, finally feeling the flush of embarrasment paint her cheeks. She took the next nearest pillow and buried her face into it, leaning back into the wall as she sat on her bed, facing Number Thirteen.

"I'm not complaining," Roxas finally replied, and she felt the hairs at the back of her neck lift up as he portalled up right next to her.

"Don't do that!" she shrieked, scrambling away from the blond Wielder and backing into the headboard.

"Oh, c'mon Nam..." he leered at her once again, getting on his hands and knees as he crawled over to her. She blushed, leaning backwards as the teen hovered over her, both gloved hands on either side of her waist and face precariously close to hers. "You started it..."

"Roxas..."

He was getting awfully close by now, and she was getting quite dizzy with how his scent of rain and mint was overwhelming her and how he had taken off his gloves and was now thumbing her jaw and how his stormy blue eyes had fluttered closed and how his breath felt warm and--

"Okay, Nam, the Superior let slip that you're the next on duty at the Postern, and---_oh_. Oh."

They blinked at the same time, and chanced a glance at the far corner of the room, at the foot of Roxas' bed. A fiercely red Demyx was standing there with a bewildered expression on his face, mouth hanging slightly open.

"Dem?" Roxas mouthed, before suddenly appearing to catch himself and sitting back into a more innocent position.

Number Nine shook his head violently, waving his hands. "No, no, go on, I didn't mean to interrupt your, uh," if possible he turned even redder, "Uhm, you know. Yeah. That. I'll just go and catch you guys later. Yeah."

Muttering something that remotely sounded like "_That's the third couple I've caught today_," he waved a portal open and disappeared into it.

Naminé stared at the spot where the music lover had disappeared, and then at Roxas, who had an eyebrow raised in amusement.

"What did he think we were doing?" he asked aloud, turning to regard her with those puppy-dog eyes once more.

"What _else_, you big, stupid, idiotic _jerk_!" she yelled, clutching the nearest pillow and throwing it at him, hitting him at the side of his head.

"Oooh, that was a low one," he teased, reaching over and pinching her cheek. "You're cute when you're mad."

She blinked, before letting out a disbelieving huff. "What's up with you?"

Roxas tilted his head. She could almost see the question marks blink on and off his metaphorical speech bubble.

"Honestly," she said again, taking on a serious tone of voice. "Ever since the night Sora had turned completely Antiform, you've been...I don't know..._happier_."

"Happier?" he repeated blankly.

"You joke around more often. Heaven knows what pranks you and Axel have thought of now. You've lightened up considerably, on the Keyblade Master business and everything..." she paused, and hid her face in her pillow, muffling her voice. "And you look...better. Um. I thought it was only Sora who could do that, but when you enter a room...you lighten it up."

"You really think so?" Roxas asked softly.

She lifted her head up and brought her knees to her chin, leaning against the wall next to Number Thirteen. Tilting her head sideways, she steadied her stare on his stormy-blue eyes. "Yes."

He looked up into the Nobody insignia mounted on the ceiling, and closed the distance between them, putting an arm around her shoulders and gently tilting her head to lean on his own shoulder.

"Kingdom Hearts has started to reform last night," he said quietly, smiling as he pointed with his free hand to the floor-to-ceiling window of their joint room. Naminé followed his gaze, and blinked. He was pointing at just another patch of inky black.

"Roxas..." she started, but he squeezed her shoulder.

The blonde Keyblade Master spread his fingers wide open, and suddenly, small but blazing meteors traced the sky, leaving a glowing yellow heart with a blue outline. It was small, but very bright nonetheless.

"Nobody else knows yet," he continued, smiling more to himself than at the room in general. "At least, except for Rinoa. I think. Kingdom Hearts is made mostly of darkness, you know. When Antiform broke free, it signalled another rallying point for the Heartless. We'll get our own hearts sooner or later."

Naminé squinted slightly, before pillowing her face on her knees once more. She smiled wanly. "It's not that, right?"

A derisive snort. "What do you mean?"

"That's not the reason why you're so different."

The blond raised an eyebrow. "What could be more important than getting our own hearts?"

She brushed choppy flaxen strands of hair to the side of her face. "Hearts? That's our long-term goal. But Nobodies like us, Roxas, don't usually get worked up on the hearts thing. That's Xemnas' job. We already remember how to feel, right? Getting our hearts shouldn't be that much of a good thing. Seeing Sora go through such pain because of a shattered heart was not a very pretty sight. In fact...I'm having second thoughts..." she trailed away.

"Don't say that," Roxas chided her gently. "In the long run, hearts will finally make us real."

"That's cliché." She sighed. "And stop changing the subject."

The blond boy cracked a grin. He paused before continuing, apparently gathering his thoughts. "I've finally loosened up, you know?"

"No, I don't."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "I finally figured everything out. When Sora turned Antiform, I felt free. Before, there was this strangling feeling I had every single time Sora even as so much as _thought_ of darkness. But that night...I just watched. Watched his eye turn amber and watched him go berserk. He doesn't need me anymore. I can finally...well..." he laughed, the first time that she had heard him do so without that hint of holding back, "...I'm _free_."

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, only time would tell.

-- x -- x --

"I want to try the orange-flavored one, buddyboy. Have any of 'em?"

Sora made a disgusted noise. "Believe me, it tastes awful."

Strands of wispy black drifted through the air as one Antiform, drenched in darkness, stood with his head stuck inside the refrigerator and with one hand on the door, while the other was rummaging inside.

The brunet Keyblade Master made a face. "D'you think King Mickey will allow shipments from the Black Market?"

"...If it's you, then," Rinoa shrugged, popping another candy heart into her mouth, and biting down on it with a disturbingly loud crunch, "...anything is possible. Right, Yuff? Have a heart," she offered, twirling her wrist and making a candy heart float over to where she was sitting on the sofa.

Yuffie shook her head, mouth still temporarily dry from what had just transpired.

Two amber eyes and a crown of ebony spikes peered out from behind the fridge door. "I'd like a heart!" he volunteered, snickering.

The sorceress shot him an amused glare. "_Candy_ hearts, Antiform."

Doing what was probably the Heartless equivalent of rolling one's eyes, Sora's dark side went back to rummaging through the fridge. "Killjoy."

She was still shocked, so to speak. Sora had just closed his eyes, and a split second later, his shadow had risen up and taken form of its own. It had introduced itself (him, no, himself) with the personality one would not expect a Heartless would have. In fact, they hadn't expected Heartless to even _have _personalities.

Antiform, or Darkie, as he had said, with a bow and a flourish; a nightmarish mirror image of Sora, all weeping black and amber eyes.

Leon's hand had automatically strayed to the hilt of his gunblade that swung from his hip, but the brunet Keywielder was quick to intervene.

"Wouldn't want to have unsightly claw marks on that lovely leather jacket, would you?" he had said airily, after whispering what looked like a few choice words into his antiform's ear, and a discreet shift of eyes in Rinoa's direction.

Riku and Kairi had taken refuge on the sofa next to Rinoa, distressed looks on their faces looking quite comical amidst the floating candy hearts. The auburn-haired girl had almost collapsed to her knees when Antiform had taken shape, and she thought she had never seen Sora run faster than he had done, just to be able to catch Kairi as she fell.

When everyone had settled down (massive understatement), Sora and Antiform on neighboring barstools, mirror images of each other as they cradled their faces on their upturned palms, they began explaining.

Explaining the past year, explaining everything, the attack, the blood-packs, the Heartless, for the sake of Leon, or Mr. Shampoo Model, as Antiform had affectionately termed the brunet.

Yuffie herself had earned the endearment 'Yuffgar', which the Heartless had explained was a mix of Yuffie...and sugar.

They had not expected that.

I mean, _sugar!_?

Where the heck did that come from?

Antiform, hell, this was the _Heartless_ that maimed hundreds of people before! Who took delight in taking out hearts! Who influenced Sora to let go and lose himself in the darkness of Kingdom Hearts!

And _this_, this ebony-black teen who was now looking through the fridge as any normal teenager would, who had just given the each of them nicknames, snickering with sarcastic side comments...

Are we talking about the same Heartless here?

After the final words of explanation slipped out from their mouths, there was a five-minute lapse of silence, wherein everyone, with the apparent exception of Rinoa, had struggled to absorb what they had just narrated. Even Riku and Kairi appeared shocked. Sora had probably never told them from _his_ point of view.

Remarkably, Leon had taken all of this in a relatively calm way, meaning that _no_, he had not gone on a bloody rampage or anything, _no_, he had not summoned any Guardian Forces or anything like that. He was now currently regarding the twin Masters with narrowed grey eyes, and Yuffie noticed that he was seated in such a way that he could easily shield her and Kairi in case Antiform decided to attack.

And yet, the Heartless hadn't.

She wondered how he could've controlled himself. Being in the presence of the hearts of three knights, the heart of a Princess of Heart, and _hers_, it didn't take a lot more motivation to just go and attack them.

" 'bout you, pretty boy?" Antiform was saying, poking his head deeper in the fridge. "Wanna get something?"

Riku looked stricken, and he directed a nervous glance at Sora, who returned it with a tilt of the head.

"No thanks."

"Uhm, could you get me a sea-salt popsicle?"

Yuffie blinked.

Kairi looked torn between a grimace and a grin.

Antiform nodded. "Sure, princess. Wait," he turned to Sora, and spoke in a rather long-suffering voice. "I've been churning through this stupid box all day, buddyboy. _You_ get the ice cream."

The brunet looked outraged, sky-blue eyes narrowing. "Lazy bum."

The Heartless shrugged, finally extracting himself from the fridge with a blood-pack in hand. "Hey, _you_ were the lazy bum. Princess said so herself, right?"

Muttering something under his breath, Sora got up from his barstool and threw the freezer door open, punching Antiform in the shoulder with something akin to brotherly love.

Batting amber eyes, he sidled up to the brunet Keyblade Master and grinned, teeth looking disturbingly like fangs. "I love you too, buddyboy."

Sora snorted derisively and shoved him off.

"...I don't get it."

Leon rubbed his temples, a sign that he now had a massive headache.

"Don't worry," Yuffie comforted him, reaching over and tucking a stray lock of mahogany hair behind his ear, "I don't, either."

Kairi had stood up and taken the popsicle Sora offered her, and she sat on the barstool previously occupied by the brunet, right beside Antiform.

Beryl eyes shifted nervously to her left. "Stop staring at me like that."

He waved an ebony hand dismissively, grinning, that hungry look on his face only partially disappearing. "Don'tcha worry, princess. I'm not gonna try anything funny. Well, not right now..." he trailed off, taking one look at Sora's raised eyebrow and focusing on the paopu-blood cooler in his hands instead.

"Why are you not attacking?" Yuffie finally asked bluntly, twiddling her thumbs.

Antiform shrugged, using a sharp, manicured nail to pierce through the blood-pack. "Need to make a good impression on Mr. Shampoo Model, right?"

Sora nodded fervently, almost looking like he was still trying to convince himself.

"That doesn't change the fact that you're still a Heartless," Leon grumbled, folding his arms and looking away. "Even if you're the most perfect Heartless."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Shut up."

"Ooooh," Amber eys narrowed, as he took a sip of blood. "Feisty, Mis-_tah_ Model."

"So!" Rinoa said brightly, clapping her hands, sending the candy hearts spinning throughout the living room and kitchen. "Everything's been settled, then! Leon, you can now stop trying to butt heads with Sora. Sora, you can now stop trying to hide any more of your, erm, interesting experiences. Antiform, you can now stop trying to kill every Princess of Heart you meet. Kairi and Riku, you can now stop trying to feel uncomfortable everytime Sora's near you. Okay? Okay!"

Antiform choked. "What do you mean, Miss S? If I don't go out and kill 'em Princesses, what more is there to live for?" he asked dramatically, looking mock-stricken as he put a hand to roughly where his heart (if he had one) would be.

Yuffie noticed that with one single hint of a glare from Rinoa, the Heartless stopped whatever he was doing and just grinned weakly.

Riku let out a very long drawn-out sigh. "Leon, just accept what Sora is already, so we can just go and get this prince business over and done with."

The brunet in question frowned.

"Pssh, Mr. Model," Antiform threw up his hands in dismay, chucking the empty blood-pack into the sink in the process. He turned to Sora. "My Neoshadows are kinda getting excited, buddyboy. I can't control them if they suddenly decide to crash this party, so you might wanna put our wards back up."

Sora sighed, throwing a look at Leon. "Fine."

The two walked side-by-side up to the front sliding doors, Oblivion appearing in Sora's fist, and the Reverse Keyblade in Antiform's, apparently needing to go outside to raise their wards against Heartless once more.

"Play nice, you two," Rinoa called after their retreating backs, only to be met by twin dismissive waves of the hand.

Yuffie caught a snatch of whispered conversation between the two of them as they slid the door open.

"_Next time, I'm gonna make sure that she's _not_ here when I get out."_

_"Keep it down. She'll hear you."_

A wince_. "Sorry, shutting up now, buddyboy._"

It suddenly occured to Yuffie why Antiform was being so..._nice_.

After the door had slid closed, Leon burst out at once.

"Can you _believe_ him?" he said furiously, standing up and raking a hand through his hair. "I thought what I knew about Sora was bad, but after what him and that..._thing_ had narrated...they're murderers! Both of them!"

"It's _Antiform_, Leon" Kairi said as she spun the popsicle stick between slim fingers. "And he's sort of...nice."

"_Nice_? Kairi, this is the same Heartless that tried to _kill_ you!"

The auburn-haired girl shrugged. "He didn't try to now. That proves that Sora can control him, at least, for a while."

"Yeah," Riku nodded in agreement. "There wasn't any strain on me at all. It was like Antiform wasn't a Heartless at all. And if you'd notice, Kairi was able to stay close to him without any effort. No overwhelming feelings of darkness, right?"

"It's a Heartless," Leon said through gritted teeth.

"Most powerful Heartless," Rinoa offered, before appearing to catch herself, clamping a hand to her mouth as the gunblade master's expression darkened. "You didn't need to know that."

"I--Something's...not right about this picture," Grey eyes closed, and a gloved hand pressed itself to a scarred forehead. Of all things that Yuffie had expected him to do, Squall Leonhart sighed deeply, looking more weary than Yuffie had ever seen him. His hardened tone of voice softened, and the tension in the air seemed to evaporate.

Riku looked away, as so did Rinoa. A frown creased the sorceress' features; if there was anything Rinoa hated the most, as Yuffie remembered, it was seeing him deviate from his normally stuck-up disposition and shift into something that was totally heartbreaking.

Grief never suited him.

The knight collapsed on the plush chair, right beside Riku. He turned to face his sister at a slight angle. "I know you love Sora, and I know that he loves you too, more than anything. It's obvious," he admitted in a defeated tone, ignoring Kairi's almost inaudible surprised intake of breath, handsome face crumpling. "But... it's a deadly risk that you're both taking. What if Antiform is not what he seems to be? What if something happens to you, Kairi, because of him? I know Sora would never forgive himself. I'd lose the _both_ of you..."

"Squall..." Kairi stood up and made her way towards Leon. She cracked a wan smile.

Riku watched Leon with an unreadable expression on his face. Yuffie knew that he had never seen Leon in this state before. However, she herself had seen Leon through the hardest...and saddest of times. Radiant Garden breaking apart, him and Rinoa getting themselves tangled in Fate's web of grief and separation...

"... and I don't think I can stand losing anyone else again."

"Ssshh," the auburn-haired princess crooned, as she leant over the plush chair and buried her face in the fur of her brother's collar, her arms winding around the knight's neck in a gesture of comfort.

For a moment, there was the funniest expression of surprise on Leon's face, but it faded as quickly as it had come, and he leant back into his newfound sister's embrace.

Yuffie watched the scene unfold with wary disbelief.

"She has this gift," Riku said quietly, standing up and making his way to sit next to her, leaving the siblings alone on the couch. "I don't know how she does it, but if it exists on this good green earth and if it's sad, Kairi can make it feel better."

"Nice way of putting it," she commented, a smile working itself onto her face at the gunblade master's contented expression.

"Riku, we leave later at nine sharp, by Gummi Ship," there was a soft _swoosh_ as the sliding door well, slid open and closed,"We'll have to scout around, I still don't trust King Mickey. Kai, _never_ touch the wards again, the darkness will be too--"

She and Riku looked around, only to see a Sora with sky-blue eyes wide and a stunned expression on his face, mouth open in an 'o'. Kingdom Key still in a limp fist, he was halfway in the motion of turning around when he froze.

"...what did I miss?"

Rinoa laughed.

-- x -- x --

"...mhmm. Yeah. They're leaving now. Hm? About midnight. Of course." A pause. "I'm not stupid. B'bye."

Rinoa flipped her phone shut and waved a pale hand over it, making it disappear in a whisper of black.

Riku eyed her gesture with interest. "I have _got_ to learn how to do that."

She shrugged, shooting him a disarmed smile at his sudden comment. "No can do. You'll have to become a sorceress first, for starters."

He hauled his backpack higher up his shoulder. "Too bad," he replied easily, staring down at the polished granite floor of the Gummi Ship Terminal, trying to ignore the prickling feeling at the back of his neck that meant that the whole Terminal was staring at them. "Who'd you call?"

She frowned grimly. "King Mickey."

He wisely decided to keep his mouth shut and not ask about it further.

Beside him, Sora stuck out his lower lip in an impressive pout. "How the _heck_ do you do that?"

Insert raised silver eyebrow. "Do what?"

The brunet pointed dramatically at his backpack. "That's _all_ you're going to bring?" he cried out.

Riku nodded hesitantly, ready to use the bag as a shield if in some cosmic joke, Sora suddenly threw a tantrum.

"I had always thought you were a high-maintenance kind of person," Rinoa put in, walking right up to him and pulling a lock of silver hair. "So I'd expected you to bring a lot more stuff..."

Ignoring the way blood rushed to his cheeks as she started playing with his hair (She was shorter than him, he pointed out, and it was kind of disconcerting how she was standing on her toes. Rinoa never really took notice of how close she got to people. She was just _that_ kind of girl.), Riku cocked his head in Sora's direction, eyebrow going higher at the amount of luggage he was carting around.

"But Sora..." he started, shoving the ebony-haired sorceress off in a very undignified manner, "The King's sending some of his men to get all our other stuff. He said just bring the essentials."

Sky-blue eyes widened. "He did?"

"Weren't you _listening_ when I called King Mickey?" he asked in an exasperated voice, palming his forehead when Sora sheepishly shook his head no.

He shrugged, and crouched down, eyebrow furrowing. "Well then," he groaned, zipping his luggage open and taking out a few things, transferring them to his belt-bags, "I feel stupid."

"No _duh_--**ow!**"

Roxas and Naminé had just walked up to them, with Leon and Yuffie in tow. The blond spiky-haired teen was rubbing the side of his head gingerly. Apparently Naminé had just smacked him upside the head.

Riku felt a grin spread across his face, and a similar one bloomed on Sora's. He turned to face the pair fully. "So."

"_So_." Sora echoed.

Rinoa bit her lip, unable to stop smiling.

"_What?_" Roxas thundered indignantly, narrowing his eyes and throwing them a Look.

"Nothing," he turned around, running a hand through silver hair, ignoring Roxas' protests. "Let's go. Our flight's at gate thirteen."

"Lucky choice," Naminé muttered under her breath, but she immediately clammed up when she was regarded with twin stares of incredulity. Not to mention, what seemed like all her blood had rushed up into her face and colored the bridge of her nose an interesting shade of red.

Riku rolled his eyes. Ah, love. It was lucky that he was still a bachelor.

"Wait," Sora halted, looking around, finally stopping to stare at Leon. He couldn't help but notice how the brunet took on a panicked tone of voice. "Where's Kairi?"

The knight shrugged. "She went ahead," he answered in an oddly fond voice.

Riku could've sworn Sora walked ten times faster.

He had called King Mickey earlier (because Sora was being stubborn and just would _not_ talk to the King more than he absolutely had to) and confirmed that Sora was accepting the King's offer. He had scarcely flipped Rinoa's phone shut (she was the only one whose cellphone plan also took care of universal calls) when they had gotten a _house_ call from a manager of the Destiny Islands Gummi Ship Terminal. All too eager she had promised them Sora's Gummi Ship at their convenience. Her smile was so white it was scary.

He wasn't prepared, however, for the sight that greeted him when they finally located their departure gate.

Yuffie, Roxas, and Rinoa burst out into simultaneous laughter.

"Sora," he started in a disbelieving voice, "You _flew_ in a Gummi Ship...that's shaped like a _tonberry_?"

Sky-blue eyes widened comically, and Sora reddened. "Hey! That's _not_ my ship!"

"Hell _yeah_ it isn't!"

Selphie Tilmitt, adorable bundle of pure sugar, popped right out of the empty terminal desk beside the gate. "That ship's _mine!_"

"...yours?"

"Yep!" she bobbed her head in a thoroughly energetic way, punching the air as she did. "And it's so cute, and cuddly, and looks so much like--"

Riku cringed as Selphie went into a long-winded cooing session over her Gummi Ship, wondering all the time how the bubbly brunette had gotten her own ship. Those things were expensive, and...

"_Tiddy! Move your butt and get my gummi outta the way!_"

From the way things were playing out, Selphie was way more inclined to end up a Cid Highwind rather than a Yuffie Kisaragi. Or a rather frightening combination of both.

The tonberry ship moved a few feeble but steady feet at a time, and another ship glided into its place, one that made Riku's jaw drop and Sora grin approvingly.

Leon let out an unwilling whistle of disbelief.

"Riku," Sora spread out a hand, in the direction of his Gummi Ship, "Meet the Highwind."

"_Breathe_, Wielder," Rinoa teased, thumping a hand into the small of his back.

Riku stared. He had never seen Sora's Gummi Ship before. Kingdom Hearts just kind of...dumped them into the ocean. Sora had probably kept it in a private hangar.

"Thirty-five feet tall, with a wingspan of seventy feet. Flare twin engines. Regen cockpit, and the hull's made of high-grade adamantine from Atlantica. Completely waterproof," the brunet narrated lovingly, leading them out of the gates and onto the runway. Surprisingly, the engine was running with only a small, quiet hum. "Auto-Silence on the exhaust; Heartless can't usually hear it. Wings are Tornado-built. It has built-in radars and automatic shield defenses. Two laser cannons and two gun turrets. Supports warp drive. The Highwind was built for speed and stealth, and this is the safest Gummi Ship on this side of the universe, if I'd dare say so myself."

Yuffie let out a disbelieving gasp, turning to Leon. "And I thought it was bad living with _Cid_."

"Wow. Just...wow," he managed to say, after a few minutes of silent staring at the ship. "And you named it Highwind too," he added weakly.

"Who could ever forget?" Sora grinned, putting his hands on his hips as he turned around to face them.

"Toys for the big boys," Naminé smirked, crossing her arms. "Roxas, close your mouth."

"Shut up."

The flaxen-haired teen shook her head. "Portalling beats flying _any_ time. And I bet you can't even fly one of those things."

"Shut _up_. For your information I've been doing the weapon check on the Assault of the Dreadnought, and I _so_ can fly a stupid Gummi Ship."

"Aww, wittle Woxie's getting defen--"

Roxas turned to face her, blue eyes smoldering, smirk unnatural on that visage. "Shut up, or I'll shut you up myself."

Naminé flared red, and she did fall silent.

"The Highwind also has a luxury interior, complete with fully stocked food enough for a month and potable water for six. I don't know _why_ the heck Sora likes leather, but I'm happy that, at least, it doesn't smell half-bad."

The top of the cockpit slid back, and Kairi appeared, waving happily at them. "Hiya!" she half-shouted.

Sora's blush was visible, even in the darkness of the night. "K-Kairi! I--_wha--_"

The auburn-haired teen climbed out, and in one smooth motion, used her right hand to push herself off as she somersaulted over and out of the cockpit, landing gracefully beside a surprised Sora, who was half in the motion of holding out his arms to catch her.

"Nice jump," Riku said approvingly, watching her brush off some imaginary dirt from her skirt.

"Thanks," she offered in reply.

Yuffie and Rinoa were halfway through a bow when the beryl-eyed girl stopped them, waving her hands frantically. The two ebony-haired women exchanged looks before nodding their assent.

Rinoa pulled her cellphone out of thin air once more and flipped it open, answering an incoming call. She held up a hand at them and turned away for a moment.

"So," Sora started, climbing up neatly on the wings and into the cockpit, pressing something that made the lower hatch open. He then leapt, as nimbly and as gracefully as Kairi had done earlier, back onto the tarmac, gesturing to the lower entrance to the Highwind. "I guess we have to go, then."

Leon grunted. Riku guessed that it probably translated into 'safe journey', in Leon-speak.

"Sora, you sure you know how to fly this thing?" he asked cautiously, placing a hand on the cool metal of its hull.

The brunet nodded. "Of course. Sure, might've run into a few close calls, but I'm sure we won't die."

"That's very comforting," he replied dryly, turning away and facing Leon, walking up to the knight. "Okay, listen, Leon. If Kairi gets hurt in any way, I swear, I _will_ kill you."

Steel-grey eyes hardened. "Of course I will protect her."

"And you'll have the two of us to answer to if you don't."

It was kind of hard, threatening somebody who was at least five inches taller than you, but Riku managed to get a nod and a whispered oath on his Knighthood that he will protect Kairi, at any cost. And another promise, on Yuffie's part, that she'll keep Leon in line.

"Hey."

Naminé placed a warm hand on his own, and looked around warily. Roxas was busy admiring the Highwind; Sora and Kairi were speaking to each other, Rinoa was still talking on her cellphone, and Leon and Yuffie were having some kind of...silent war that involved a lot of glancing at each other.

Cerulean eyes gazed up at him, and she brushed away a strand of bleached hair. "...take care, and be safe."

She took her other hand and pressed something into his palm.

When she lifted her hands, there was a wolf's head earring in his right hand, silver and sparkling in the moonlight.

"It's Zexion's. You _must_ take care of yourself," she dropped her voice a few more decibels, and Riku had to lean in (with another wary look cast around, now Rinoa was patting the Highwind and was engaged in very enthusiastic conversation with Roxas), "Sora's not the only one who has darkness in his heart. This earring has very powerful white magic; it will prevent your Heartless side from acting up for a limited period of time."

Aquamarine eyes blinked. "But--"

"It's your choice if you wear it or not, Riku." She reached up and tapped his nose playfully, smiling as she did. "Trust nobody, and _watch your back_. If you need help, just ask Roxas."

"Uh...okay?"

She turned around, and with her hands behind her back, skipped over to Rinoa and Roxas.

He stared after her. Girls. He'd never understand them.

He walked towards Sora and Kairi, pocketing the earring and pondering on Naminé's warnings. Reading between the lines, he knew that she knew more than she led on to. Meaning that Organization XIII would play a large role in events from now on. Or maybe, just maybe, she had a plan of her own.

"...be careful, and _don't trust anybody_," the auburn-haired girl was saying, and Sora was shoving something into his belt-bag as she did, nodding quietly. "Not even the King."

Riku did a double take; didn't just Naminé tell him that?

He let a smile creep into his face; Rinoa's advice had worked beautifully. Sure, King Mickey might've seen him talking to Naminé, but he was really talking to Kairi. About the note. She had taken it to heart, bless that girl, and was now discreetly warning Sora.

"Well," he started, planting his hands on his hips.

Kairi jerked back as if startled, and she turned to face him sheepishly, averted eyes telling him that she was pretending she had said nothing. Sora looked like a deer caught in headlights.

And then something small and strawberry-smelling flung herself at him and proceeded to try and squeeze the living daylights out of him.

"Riku...you have _no_ idea how much I'll miss you..." Kairi's muffled voice informed him.

He wondered how she and Naminé had gotten a grip this hard. "K-kai...I need to breathe..."

"Oh. Oh! Sorry about that," she beamed up at him, and his annoyance instantly melted away. Kairi just had _that _effect on him, and now that he knew that they were friends and were going to stay that way forever, he appreciated it. "Take care of Sora, okay?" she said in a cheery, and obviously fake, judging from the way it shook, voice.

"Hey!" Pout courtesy of Sora.

"Don't worry," he said gently, pulling her into another hug of his own, smoothing the redwine locks of hair. She let out a squeak of surprise but hugged him back, arms winding around his back. "I'll do my best, Kairi."

"Is this the part where I start crying?"

"Ro**xas!**"

"OW! That actually hurts!"

"That's the point!"

"Come here, you," Kairi suddenly whirled around, and launched herself at a surprised number Thirteen, throwing arms around his neck and voice all too wobbly.

Her tears fell in a graceful curve in the night, and beside him, Rinoa caught a clear droplet and made it dance in midair. They watched Kairi hug Roxas in silence.

"How long?" Riku finally spoke, not looking at the ebony-haired girl beside him.

"As long as it takes, Wielder. If they want to stay together, they must find some way to get out of this." She paused. "Xemnas called. You have a honorary joint scholarship in Radiant Garden and Disney University if you care to take up their offer."

He raised an eyebrow. "Meaning...?"

"You have full access to Radiant Garden archives, and you have 24-hour shuttle Ship service to the Garden."

"That's not the point."

"You are suspicious," she turned to him, face completely serious, and her hand went up unconsciously to her necklace. "I'm giving you the chance to prove anything."

"I'm not--" He started to protest, but Rinoa silenced him as she placed a finger on his lips.

"You don't trust me. I don't need to read your mind to see that." Her hand moved, and she patted his cheek, smiling as she did. "And trust is always a valuable thing, Riku."

And with that, Rinoa Heartilly walked away, stopping beside Yuffie and Leon.

_Girls_.

Keyblade Master or not, he really had no hope of understanding them.

He turned back once again, and he smiled wanly. Sora and Kairi were standing alone together, facing each other, looking into the other's eyes. They were the ones who were going to suffer the most out of this chain of events. Sure, Roxas and Naminé would part, but they could use the Corridors to see each other. Sora couldn't, since portalling was a usual sign of darkness, and being the new crown prince, that wasn't a good thing to do.

Kairi tilted her head, and smiled, raising a hand and pointing upwards.

Sora followed her gaze, and so did Riku.

Stars. Hundreds of them, twinkling in the heavens. Hundreds of worlds that Sora had to protect. Man, he was lucky that the Keyblade decided to move on to the brunet.

Behind him, Rinoa and Leon made simultaneous choking noises.

"Beautiful," Sora said softly, smiling, something that was so unlike his usual goofy grin.

"Yeah," Kairi replied, eyes still gazing at the starry sky. "Look! A falling star...world...whatever..."

Someone Riku supposed was a certain Knight and Sorceress made another choking noise. What was up with those two?

"...I'm not talking about the stars."

The brunet took one of her hands and intertwined her fingers with his, then pulled her flush with him with an arm around her waist. And even though it was kind of dark out on the tarmac, Riku _had_ to grin when they kissed.

He chanced a glance over his shoulder, and he saw Yuffie blush fire, hiding and burying her face as best as she could into Leon's back. The knight had let out an unwilling smile. Rinoa was smirking.

"See? _See?_ Can't I get one little kiss like that?"

Naminé glared. "That is _not_ one little kiss, Roxas. Besides, you've got more than enough kisses, and although I'd really like to give you more, you have to get going," she pointed out, before freezing, apparently realizing, once more a few seconds too late, what she had said.

The blonde Nobody leered at her. "Just one kiss?"

"No"

"One teeny-tiny kiss?"

"_No_."

Sora and Kairi had broken apart, but they still held each other, staring at the two Nobodies bemusedly.

"I'll be good, I promise," Roxas was saying, spreading gloved palms open.

"You'd better be," she huffed, crossing her arms and turning up her nose in a very comical way. Honestly, it seemed like every moment those two shared came from a really bad sitcom.

"Kiss me?"

"_No._"

"Please? Pretty, pretty please?" he whined. "Oh come on, Nam! We're not going to see each other for only Creator knows how long, and you won't even kiss me goodbye?"

The flaxen-haired girl whirled around, and her face crumpled, making Roxas take a step back.

"What?" he asked, panicking at what looked like tears rapidly pooling in Naminé's eyes. Riku made a mental note: Roxas and Sora's common weakness: crying girls _always _turned them into blubbering idiots. "What'd I do?"

"It's not goodbye, you stupid idiot!" she shrieked, crying as she did. "Never say goodbye! Don't, just _don't!_ I'm trying to shrug it off, Mr.-I'm-Suddenly-Happy, I'm trying to ignore the fact that I'm not going to see your stupid face every day! I'm trying not to worry, trying not to start _missing_ you so much, you dumb, crazy Nobody!

The flaxen-haired girl took a swipe at her eyes as she rounded on Roxas angrily, seeming to forget that there were other people there. "I'm trying to get over the fact that you won't be there when I wake up, that your stupid bedheaded self won't be the first thing I see in the morning! I'm trying to convince myself that since I'm a Nobody, I _can't_ feel sadness! _But you're leaving and I'm sad right now and __**it's not fair!**_"

"I don't want you to leave but you just _have_ to and--_mmph!_"

Roxas grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her. Naminé struggled at first, but her sobs finally quieted, and when they broke apart, Roxas just held her close for a few minutes of silence.

"Must _every_ goodbye be this..._dramatic_?"

Riku blinked; Axel and Larxene had just portalled in next to Rinoa.

Larxene chucked a kunai at him when she caught him staring.

"What did I do?" he yelled, glaring at his former Healing Arts professor.

"Nothing," she shrugged, turning to Axel. "Get this over with, pyro."

"Yeah, yeah," number Eight waved her off, walking up to the blond Keyblade Master and putting his hands on his hips. Naminé smiled and wiped a tear away, wriggling out of Roxas' embrace and stepping back.

"I--"

"Uh-uh, Roxie, don't give me any of that angsty 'No one will miss me' stuff," Axel said, doing a ridiculously horrible imitation of Roxas, complete with frown and pout. "I know that you've already bid the Order goodbye earlier, but I just wanted you to know that _I_ will miss you, 'kay?"

"Stoppit," the blond mumbled, turning away and drawing up his hood. "You're making me cry, jerk."

"Just..." Axel walked up closer, and placed his hands on Roxas' shoulders, peering around his hood and smiling. "Always remember that you have your own Castle That Never Was to call home."

"I know."

Riku shook his head mentally; at this rate, they'd never take off from Destiny Islands.

Larxene crossed her arms and stood beside him. He felt rather intimidated from the fact that she was as tall as him. "Oh, Roxas and Axel would miss each other more than they think."

"How'd you know?"

The Savage Nymph tilted her head thoughtfully. "I just do."

And behind Roxas and Axel, beside Naminé, Sora and Kairi started kissing again, as if their life depended on it.

"Those two..." he palmed his forehead exasperatedly, muttering quietly to himself. "They should stop the smooching already. It's not like they'd never kiss again in their lives..."

Riku had no way of knowing that he was right.

-- x -- x --

All was right in the world; nice blank music book, sitar just tuned, a fountain just outside his second-story window, and a very silent night.

Demyx just _knew_ something was up, so he was ready. Narrow-eyed and suspicious, but ready to go nevertheless. He wasn't surprised when the new orders came.

"Create a detour through the Corridors, Demyx, for the Heartless."

Sapphire eyes glared. "You know I can't do it. Not with the Cornerstone in place."

"Not through the castle, but through the Kingdom."

"Why?"

"You'll see soon enough."

Demyx watched the window slam closed, and he collapsed on his bed, eyes to the marble ceiling and hands laced behind his head.

"They _always_ send the wrong guy for these kind of situations..."

-- x -- x --

beep. beep. the review button needs some _love_.

Oh yeah. If you've played FFVIII, or even watched the infamous dance FMV, you'd know why Rinoa and Leon were acting up.


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